Interview with designer Yue Jiang
Yue Jiang is the founder of Má + Lin[ma-lain]. Má + Lin is where Chinese and French cultures meet to celebrate Linen, the world’s most ancient and sustainable fabric.
The world has never shouted so loudly against excess consumption and unnecessary waste, and it has never yearned more passionately for a slower pace, slower fashion and a zero waste lifestyle. Created with the essence of slow fashion and sustainability, the brand endeavours to play a part in this revolution.
Tracing your order, from the production of the materials to the final product, gives more value to the piece and the people that make it. Where did this idea come from?
It mainly comes from my previous experiences in the fashion industry. I’ve always worked in the fashion supply chain (buying raw materials, producing garments). Those experiences gave me the insight of how untransparent a traditional fashion supply chain was. We would never ask the origin of the fabrics, let alone where the raw materials were grown. Sometimes even the “Made in country” can be deceiving. After 10 years of my career, I do not wish to continue contributing my work to this unsustainable industry. Instead, I wanted to do it in a totally opposite way, by providing a fully transparent supply chain and 100% traceable products. In this way, I’m also spreading the words to our customers that it is essential to know where the products are coming from and who made them.
Do you think that slow fashion will overcome fast fashion?
I’m confident in the future of slow fashion, but it won’t happen without a global collective effort. More legislation should be put in place to regulate the whole fashion industry, from the production waste to the workers’ working conditions and so on. People need to be educated against over-consumption, they need to be aware of the environmental footprint of each product they purchase… We still have a long way to go.
Comfortable and durable, linen is a great material that is also friendly with sustainability. Have you always known the potential of this fabric?
Not always 🙂 Until several years ago, linen for me was merely a “homewear” fabric, which was mostly suitable for tableware or bedding. I barely imagine it in fashion, except for some thin summery beach dresses. I started to discover the potential of linen when I was working at a British luxury brand, where they used lots of beautiful Irish linen and Belgian linen of different weights and different designs. I started to realise that linen can be fashionable. Then I attended an online course at UAL called “Textile for fashion buyer”, where I learned more about the wonderful aspects of linen, that it is the oldest and most sustainable natural materials existing in the world, that it can be locally grown and produced, that it requires much less water than the cotton and it doesn’t require pesticide, etc. My idea of creating a linen-only clothing brand started to form…
Where do you get your inspiration from?
Women in the streets. Especially Parisian women. I’ve always been inspired by the French style.
Are you working on new projects right now?
I’ve been working on some Winter linen fabrics, as well as our first linen trousers!
Interview with designer Yue Jiang
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