Mima Osawa, 27, grew up splitting her time between New Zealand and Japan. After a chance encounter with a textile shop in Nagano Prefecture that specialized in selling deadstock fabric, Osawa was inspired to start Mono Handmade, a specialty clothing line that upcycles fabric, to do her part in making the fashion industry more sustainable.

Sense of style: Mima Osawa creates garments with an eco-conscious approach for her clothing line, Mono Handmade.
Sense of style: Mima Osawa creates garments with an eco-conscious approach for her clothing line, Mono Handmade.

1. Where did you grow up? I was born in Japan and grew up in Aotearoa, New Zealand. Surrounded by nature (and sheep, of course), we had a lot of freedom and didn’t need much to be happy.