Nice to meet you
Edda Hamar
Edda is a sustainability advocate, workplace culture nerd and social entrepreneur. In 2011 she started Undress Runways, a sustainable fashion company, to educate and inspire people to rethink their relationship with fashion. The Undress Runway events toured the Australian East Coast and showcased sustainable designers from around the world. She went on to build Lána, a peer-to-peer rental platform for clothes sharing. In light of her work, she was named one of 17 UN Young Leaders for the Sustainable Development Goals. Edda was also featured in the Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia List for her work advocating for sustainability in the fashion industry. At the heart of Edda’s work is a fight for environmental and social justice while bringing corporate greed to its knees. The books on her bedside table include The Fearless Organisation by Amy Edmundson, Unraveled by Maxine Bédat and Why do so many incompetent men become leaders? by Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic. Today, Edda is studying psychology and plans to combine her experience in sustainability with a deeper understanding of the human psyche to address global challenges. In her downtime, you’ll find Edda trying to keep her indoor plants alive, exploring new business ideas and contemplating how to raise a boy in today’s society.
Ryan Cotterill
Ryan is an architect, designer and creative director, passionate about the relationship between design and our planet. He studied architecture at The University of Queensland and took a keen interest in sustainability & design. In 2011, Ryan joined Edda in producing sustainable fashion events at Undress Runways. Ryan led the creative and aesthetic direction of each show, bringing unique concepts to life on the runway. His mission was to show people that sustainability is not an aesthetic but a process. At the same time, Ryan completed his masters in Architecture and moved to London where he gained a wealth of knowledge in sustainable architecture and design. Ryan currently works for Koichi Takada Architects in Sydney, a practice focused on creating buildings that have a symbiotic relationship with the natural environment whilst positively contributing to our built and social environments. Ryan is driven to create beautiful architecture that meets the needs of people and planet, while reducing our reliance on finite resources and harmful building practices. Outside of architecture, Ryan is a proud member of the LGBTQIA+ community with a passion for diversity, inclusion & representation across all industries. You’ll catch Ryan riding his bike around Surry Hills, sipping soy lattes and fiercely flaunting it on a dance floor.