Re-imagine
Exploring the different armour / masks we wear daily to be part of society, and the cost of it, to ourselves and the environment.
Armour
living sculpture
Armour can be regarded as an art form that serves as creative inspiration. The armour and wearer become part of our collective culture and play prominent roles in legendary stories, e.g, ancient Greek goddess Athena’s Golden Armour, Japanese Samurai, to modern-day fashion.
The 80's power suit can be regarded as an example of modern-day armour.
“Men cannot do business without them, and women use them to assert / establish their authority in a professional and political environment traditionally dominated by men.” And many minority groups appropriate white culture as an armour for survival and acceptance.
This armour was made with materials that will survive for over one hundred years in the wasteland and will not decompose, similar to societal pressures that we all carry within us for generations.
An Unlived Life
The armour / masks we wear daily to be part of society
In the early 90’s, I volunteered for a gay crisis phone line, where we talked people out of committing suicide, weekly.
The pressure of chasing for societal approval and expectations can cause many people in the LGBTQ+ community to live an unlived life.
20 plus years later, the LGBTQ+ movement has gained ground and the addition of Q2+ includes minority gender identity. Although we continue to make progress in North America, LGBTQ2+ people in many parts of the world are still being persecuted, hunted as a sport in Russia, whipped and stoned to death in Brunei and parts of Africa…
#LGBTQ2+ #BLM #METOO #EveryChildMatters #StopAsianHate. In every one of these movements, the people involved have to wear self-imposed masks daily, to be part of society. And most have learned to choose the daily battles they face as a minority in a majority white “privileged” male world, routinely being asked the seemingly harmless question “where are you really from?” with its implied microaggressive meaning “because you can’t possibly be from here…”
Women around the world still don't have full autonomy of their bodies and still have to put on a “smile” mask.
The civil rights movement has made advancements, e.g, Black people were allowed to vote in the USA in 1965, Canada passed legislation to ban Gay Conversion Therapy in June 2021, a therapy treatment where the gay is electrically shocked out of you. But Canada has recently also uncovered a dark side of its history #EveryChildMatters, with the discovery of unmarked graves of indigenous children. Stories are being told of how the Catholic Church attempted to beat the “Mohawk” Indian out of the children – often beating them to death – as an objective of assimilating to white culture, whilst the government covered it’s eyes with sheer fabric pretending not to know what was going on.
The mask my model wears represents a warrior in an urban dystopia, the sheerness of fabric shields her eyes from the hardness of the sun that represents reality.
"Ideas change the world only when they change our behaviour."
Yuval Noah Harari
NEWs
Art Basil / Design Miami
#condomXunderwear dress (collaboration with USM at Art Basil / Design Miami) 📍 Miami – Dec.2021
As an artist, I am asking the uncomfortable questions to which most of us don’t want to know the answers.
Using radical material to spark a conversations on sustainable fashion with fashion industry decision makers.
#condomXunderwear
Armour
These materials will be in the landfill 50 to 500 years from now – only natural fabric material will decompose – and others will only break down and become micro plastics.
expired condoms & used underwear
The stories behind the material and design concept.
Working within the constraints of only using waste to design, plus maintaining Covid-19 safety, has pushed this project over to the next level.
the process
Each #AQSFAI piece take 90 to 180 days to research, product development, material gathering, and over 100 hours to hand craft into an haute couture dress.
Material Collection
Undies Collection
Art Directing
Composting Clothes
What happens when you compost a pair of stretchy jeans
Photoshoot
Behind The Scenes #CondomXunderwear
Introducing: #AQSFAI
Adam Quang Sustainable Fashion Art Installation
Creating change at the root of our fashion industry.
These dresses were made from textile waste and / or found material by upcycling and handcrafting them into haute couture dresses. Worn by various fashion industry influencers as a performance art on fashion runways and fashion events: Toronto Fashion Week ( T.F.W), Fashion Art Toronto Week ( F.A.T), Start Up Fashion week ( S.F.W) Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF)…
Investigative Report
A brief history of plastic
"Trace the history of the invention of plastic, and how the material ushered in what became known as the plastics century."
What are microplastics?
"Most plastics in the ocean break up into very small particles. These small plastic bits are called "microplastics."
Makeup Dark Secret
The unethically sourced ingredient that's in almost all makeup products. She travels to the mica mines in India to uncover the truth about child labor rings behind this mineral.
Inside the Lab That Could Solve the World's Plastics Problem
How can we develop environmentally friendly products, and how do we clean up the plastics we've already discarded? We travel to a materials lab in Minnesota and a recycling plant in California to find the answers
Tracking your plastic: Exposing recycling myths
Marketplace journalists go undercover overseas and pose as recycling brokers to expose the lucrative plastic recycling business break the law to buy Canadian plastic and show how some of it is dumped and burned in illegal landfills.
The Hidden Truth Behind Sweden's Waste Disposal Infrastructure
Västerås, Sweden, sixty tonnes of waste are burnt every hour, converting it into energy for electricity and hot water. S
Multi-award-winning interdisciplinary artist | author | yogi
Adam Quang is an accomplished interdisciplinary artist, designer, and author with over 20 years of experience. He serves as the fashion director for Hollywood North Style Lounge and is a prominent advocate for sustainable fashion. Adam has been honored with the Excellence Young Quebec Designers Award and is the creative director of his private fashion label, Xcouture.ca, which specializes in haute couture-inspired, gender-neutral, net-zero carbon fashion made from reclaimed textiles. His private label reflects his dedication to sustainable and ethical fashion practices, using reclaimed textiles and implementing a circular fashion model.
He is a leading voice in the sustainable fashion movement, dedicated to promoting sustainable and ethical fashion practices in the industry. His current work, the Sustainable Fashion Art Installation series, highlights the intersection of fashion sustainability and technology, showcased at prestigious events such as Design Miami/Art Basel, T.I.F.F, and various Fashion Weeks in Canada. He also has experience as a costume FX textile artist for Star Trek: Discovery, adding to his skills and creativity in the field of costume design.
Special Thanks To
My works do not generate profit – they are created in order to raise awareness. Your financial support is much appreciated. Each dollar really counts, from a one-time contribution to a monthly donation of support.