Paris-based designer Anil Padia has won the European leg of the R|Elan Circular Design Challenge (RCDC), one of the fashion industry’s leading platforms for sustainable design talent. His label, Yoshita 1967, was named European Finalist on 5 July at a jury evening held at Le Meurice in Paris, on the eve of Paris Haute Couture Week.
The event was staged jointly by R|Elan (the sustainable fabric brand owned by Reliance Industries), the United Nations in India, and Lakme Fashion Week, in partnership with the Federation de la Haute Couture et de la Mode (FHCM) and the Embassy of France in India. It formed part of the India-France Year of Innovation 2026.
SIX DESIGNERS, ONE WINNER
A jury of six senior figures from European fashion and sustainability circles reviewed six semi-finalists before selecting Padia’s brand. The judges were Pascale Mussard of the Fondation Hermes and Villa Noailles, Sara Sozzani Maino of Fondazione Sozzani, Serge Carreira of the FHCM’s Emerging Brands Initiative, Diane Pernet of ASVOF, Kering’s Anne-Gaelle Lamort, and Marie Claire France editorial director Katell Pouliquen.
The competing designers included Iman Coccellato’s eveningwear label Coccellato, built entirely from deadstock luxury fabric; PLNGNS, a Germany-Ukraine venture by Dmytro Hontarenko that turns old sneakers and fashion waste into streetwear; Matthieu Ruiz, who works with natural dyes and deadstock textiles; Portugal’s BEHEN, led by Joana Duarte, which repurposes antique textiles and embroidery; and Italy’s FLORANIA, founded by Flora Rabbiti, which builds garments from discarded clothing and new fibre research.
Padia’s Yoshita 1967 stood out for its production model rather than a single technique. The brand relies on artisan-led, handmade manufacturing spread across Nairobi, Paris and Delhi, framing circularity as a social and cultural project as much as a material one.
FROM STUDENT TO FINALIST
Padia moved to Paris in 2013 to study at the Ecole de la Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture Parisienne, now known as the Institut Francais de la Mode. He has spent the past five years building his practice between France and Nairobi.
Anil Padia, Founder of Yoshita 1967, added, “ I am honoured to be selected as the European Finalist for the R|Elan™ Circular Design Challenge 2026. France has played a defining role in my creative journey since I moved to Paris in 2013 to study at the École de la Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture Parisienne (now Institut Français de la Mode). Over the past five years, I have built my practice between France and Nairobi, inspired by diverse cultures and a shared commitment to responsible craftsmanship. This recognition reinforces our belief in the power of circularity to shape the future of fashion. I am grateful to the distinguished jury and look forward to representing Europe at the Grand Jury in India later this year.”
LEADERSIHP COMMENTARY
Rakesh Bali, Sr. Vice President – PetChem, Reliance Industries Limited said, “Congratulations to Yoshita 1967 by Anil Padia on being named the European Finalist. His work reflects the spirit of the R|Elan™ Circular Design Challenge — proof that circularity can be a powerful engine for creativity. At Reliance, through R|Elan™, we are proud to nurture emerging talent across the fashion value chain, from the fibres we engineer to the global platforms we create for the designers shaping fashion’s more sustainable future.”
Pascal Morand, Executive President, Fédération de la Haute Couture et de la Mode (FHCM) added, “We are very proud to be a partner with this program because of the incredible work it is doing. It was a great jury, and selecting the winner was very difficult given the high caliber of participants. As we look at fashion and couture, we see so much creativity and art, but also new changes with emerging business models and materials. It is essential not only to celebrate creativity but also to identify true innovation. I am also very happy to see the growing relationship between France and India becoming stronger and more developed.
Jaspreet Chandok, Group Vice President, Reliance Brands Limited, said “The European Jury in Paris marked an important milestone in the global journey of the R|Elan™ Circular Design Challenge, bringing together an exceptional community of leaders from fashion, sustainability and the creative industries to celebrate the next generation of circular innovation. We congratulate Yoshita 1967 by Anil Padia on being selected as the European Finalist and look forward to seeing the brand join an outstanding cohort of innovators at the Grand Jury in India later this year. As the Challenge continues to expand its international footprint, it reinforces our commitment to creating a global platform that champions responsible design, material innovation and the future of circular fashion.”
Designers Rahul Mishra, Gaurav Gupta, Manish Malhotra, Hema Bose and Christoph Rumpf were among the guests at the Le Meurice event, alongside representatives of French fashion houses, academic institutions and media.
WHAT’S NEXT
The competition now moves to further regional rounds: a United Kingdom jury on 9 July, an Asia Pacific jury on 24 July, and an India jury on 28 July. Winners from each region will advance to a Grand Jury at the United Nations Headquarters in New Delhi, before a final round at the French Embassy in India during Lakme Fashion Week x FDCI in October, when the overall RCDC winner and runner-up will be named.
BACKGROUND
The R|Elan Circular Design Challenge launched in India in 2018 as a joint initiative of Reliance Industries’ R|Elan fabric brand, the United Nations in India, and Lakme Fashion Week. It supports designers and entrepreneurs working on waste-reducing solutions in fashion and textiles.
