I felt that few of the entries addressed the theme of “RE” in an interesting way. Some of the entries were similar to each other, and it is quite difficult to commoditize them now. I expected more of the entries to focus on the re-use or different ways to use existing products.

Although the winning entry for the Gold Prize may not appear to be new if you know the textile production process, it made me RE-think something. Japanese people used to re-use yukata for diapers or floor cloths. This entry simply told me that being eco-friendly was this easy. It even made me smile and wonder why no one thought of cube salt when there’s cube sugar. I think we can enjoy with medical specialists the process of fixing the proper size of the cube, which is good for your health.

• Kazuko Koike
• Takashi Sugimoto
• Kenya Hara
• Naoto Fukasawa
• Jasper Morrison