The MAD (fashion, arts, entertainment) festival is back this year and will be held from August 22 to 25 at the Quartier des spectacles. For its 24e edition, more than 300 artists from the fields of fashion, arts and entertainment will be brought together. On the program: around thirty fashion shows, pop-up boutiques and artists from the local and international music scene.
“This year, it’s eclectic, huge and irreverent,” says Chantal Durivage, co-founder of the MAD festival, in an interview. “Artists need to express themselves so much and we’re happy to give them a platform to do so. It’s a festival where we make lots of discoveries, we meet new fashion designers, musicians, DJs, dancers, photographers and visual artists.”
The festival site is expanding and now extends to De Maisonneuve Boulevard. “The festival is adding a new stage, the De Maisonneuve stage, where there will be music 12 hours a day with DJs, and more than 60 artists who will thrill the audience,” says Chantal Durivage.
PHOTO MARJORIE GUINDON, PROVIDED BY CHANTAL DURIVAGE
Chantal Durivage, co-founder of the MAD festival
The lineup is very diverse, there is Latin music, soul, rap, DJs, local and international artists like Vinny Bombay, Nate Husser, Tana, Mowalola, Ed Winter, NaLi and many more. We are really proud of this lineup.
Chantal Durivage, co-founder of the MAD festival
This 24e edition marks the return of meetings and conferences with the arrival, in particular, of Marylin Fitoussi, stylist of the successful series Emily in ParisAugust 21. A meeting is planned with Thierry-Maxime Loriot, curator of the McCord Stewart Museum exhibition Portraits and fashion – Quebec photographers beyond bordersas well as with Sara Camposarcone, a stylist and designer known for her extravagant fashion. There will also be a discussion on fashion and sustainable development with Quebec brands Quartz Co., Lambert and Renaissance.
PHOTO SARAH MONGEAU-BIRKETT, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
A major fashion show will be presented during the MAD festival to mark the 65th anniversary of LaSalle College.
Some thirty fashion shows will be held on the festival’s main stage, with designers Guillaum Chaigne, Lakuachimoto and Jason Baerg in particular. LaSalle College will present a major fashion show for its 65e birthday with many public figures, including Geneviève Schmidt, Martine St-Clair, Jeanick Fournier and Gisèle Lullaby.
The pop-up stores will allow us to meet more than 100 designers. “We have increased the number of stores this year, which will allow us to make discoveries. There are clothing stores, cosmetics stores and accessories stores,” concludes Chantal Durivage.
Visit the MAD festival website