Meet Oscar Ruiz-Schmidt | Creative Director / Fashion Designer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Oscar Ruiz-Schmidt and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Oscar, every day, we about how much execution matters, but we think ideas matter as well. How did you come up with the idea for your business?
Since my start at fashion school in Berlin I was introduced to new approaches and methodologies regarding sustainability practices, mindfulness and craft. Zero Waste Design resonated with me enormously and has since then been my main driving practice.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
My artistic practice revolves around Zero Waste Design as a philosophy, continuous research in garment construction and development and material innovation. I started this line of work since my Master studies at Kunsthochschule Berlin Weißensee in 2009. During this time the university placed a lot of focus in developing thinking tanks for this collaborative approach to art and design, holding multiple workshops, and enabling multiple departments and workshops within the institution to encourage the alumni. I came across the work of many influential researchers working in the field, like Kate Fletcher, Holly McQuillan, Timo Rissanen, Giana González, Otto von Busch, Kate Goldsworthy, and especially, Rebecca Earley and Kay Politowicz who where invited to the university to hold a workshop for a few weeks. Upon returning to my home country, Costa Rica, I started the brand Obra Gris in 2015.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I would take visitors on an art tour and show them my favorite places in town. The Museum of Contemporary Art and Design (www.madc.cr), The Gold Museum (museosdelbancocentral.org/en), The Jade Museum (museodeljade.ins-cr.com), and the artist run space _temporal (www.instagram.com/__temporal). For an amazing tapa and cocktail visit Buchon (www.instagram.com/buchoncr) and for coffee Cabra Negra.

I would then leave town and hit the beach!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Regine Hielscher-Gotenbach was my pattern construction professor at KHB Weißensee in Berlin and she taught me the ropes. Ever since I took her classes and started reading about Hacktivism through Otto von Busch’s work and open source in fashion through the work of Giana González the reasons I first attended fashion school suddenly pivoted towards new ethical approaches to working with materials and materiality.

Website: obra-gris.com

Instagram: obragris

Image Credits
Photographs by Juan Tribaldos / the first pictures with the asian male model are by Naza Quirós