KA WA KEY

[Established year] 2017

Reimagining traditional textile crafts, London & Hong Kong based KA WA KEY uses sustainable materials only to infuse everyday casualwear and knitwear with roots of Asian and Scandinavian heritage. The gender-fluid line constantly works to incorporate ethical sourcing and manufacturing to achieve their vision of simplicity that meets soft masculinity.

KA WA KEY’s work has been featured at on-schedule London Fashion Week Men’s, Paris Fashion Week, New York Fashion Week and Shanghai Fashion Week sponsored by GQ China. They represented London menswear at London Show ROOMS in Paris Fashion Week Men’s. KA WA KEY was nominated as one of the semi-finalists of International Woolmark Prize.

Key was born in Hong Kong and graduated from the Royal College of Art in London with a Master’s degree in Fashion Menswear in 2015 with the scholarships he obtained by winning the Hong Kong Young Design Talent Award (YDTA). He was nominated as one of the finalists at the H&M Design Award for his graduate collection, which was showcased in “DOUBLE JE” contemporary art exhibition at Palais de Tokyo in Paris.

Finnish born Jarno Leppanen has cross-artistic background and holds a Master’s degree in Arts, to translate their unique design language into poetical visuals, films, performance and various projects.