OBRO Just Turned Leather Waste Into Luxury Material - Yanko Design

"There's something quietly radical about a material that refuses to hide what it's made from. OBRO, a new composite from Japanese manufacturer Sanyo Co., Ltd., takes recycled leather powder and suspends it in transparent black PVC, creating a surface that looks like stars scattered across a midnight sky. Instead of disguising its origins, the material puts waste on full display, transforming discarded scraps into something you actually want to touch."

"OBRO comes from the Japanese word "oboro," which translates to "hazy" or "softly blurred." It's that in-between quality where things aren't quite solid, not quite translucent. Hold the material up to light and the leather fragments shimmer beneath the surface, shifting between metallic glints and organic warmth depending on the angle. It's the kind of visual texture that photographs beautifully but probably demands to be seen in person to fully appreciate."

"Sanyo Co., Ltd. has been around since 1947, so they've had plenty of time to understand leather as both craft and industry. What makes OBRO interesting is that it doesn't try to replicate traditional leather. There's no embossing to fake a hide pattern, no attempt to make you forget you're looking at something engineered. The leather powder is ground fine enough to become part of a new material language entirely, one that feels more industrial poetry than nostalgic pastiche."

OBRO is a composite material that embeds recycled leather powder in transparent black PVC to create a shimmering, star-speckled surface. The name derives from the Japanese word meaning hazy or softly blurred, reflecting a translucent, in-between visual quality. Leather fragments shimmer beneath the surface, shifting between metallic glints and organic warmth depending on viewing angle. Sanyo Co., Ltd., with a history dating to 1947, positions OBRO away from traditional leather mimicry, favoring an engineered aesthetic. The debut collection includes a tote, sacoche, and key case, all minimalist and gender-neutral, with genuine leather accents framing the OBRO panels.

Read at Yanko Design - Modern Industrial Design News