MAD for “fashion, arts and entertainment”. This is the acronym that now defines the various projects of Groupe Sensation Mode, including the Festival Mode+Design, which will now bear the name Festival MAD, as well as MAD Shoppe, an online platform and pop-up stores dedicated to Quebec designers. This change, announced on Wednesday, aims to reflect a transformation initiated in recent years.
MAD Collectif is the name of Groupe Sensation Mode which, since its creation in 1999, has been producing and designing experiential events in Canada and abroad. “It’s a reflection that was started some time ago, says Jean-François Daviau, president and co-founder of MAD Collectif. Why is this happening now? It is that we have the impression that we are on our X in our transformation facing the future. It is also the entire evolution of our environment that has led us to this new posture. Between the time we started and now, we are in two completely different universes. »
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VISUAL PROVIDED BY MAD COLLECTIF
The new image of MAD Collectif
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VISUAL PROVIDED BY MAD COLLECTIF
The new image of MAD Collectif
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VISUAL PROVIDED BY MAD COLLECTIF
The new image of MAD Collectif
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This transformation is embodied in particular in the programming of the Festival Mode+Design which, over the years, has opened up to other artistic mediums. “Fashion is the medium with which we were born, we grew up, but it itself has evolved, observes Chantal Durivage, co-founder of MAD Collectif and VPE, creative development. Now she is everywhere. She is in music, in the cinema, in the opera. »
The new name will allow the event to further assert its entertainment aspect and its irreverent approach, without denying its DNA.
Our promise is clearer and we can explore many more forms of expression, whether through dance or music, without creating an expectation of fashion shows. We know that’s not what people want to see first at our event, but they come for the fashion anyway.
Jean-François Daviau, president and co-founder of MAD Collectif
As for the English sound of this new name, the founders state their desire to also attract an international clientele. “As digital is becoming an extremely important aspect, we wanted this deployment to eventually also have an ear from an international point of view,” notes Chantal Durivage.
An online platform for Quebec fashion
Under this new umbrella, we will also find MAD Shoppe, an online sales platform for Quebec designers whose launch is scheduled for spring 2023. The project, which was announced last January in the presence of the Minister of the Economy and Innovation, Pierre Fitzgibbon, received financial support of $2.8 million from the Quebec government.
MAD Shoppe will also be holding physical pop-up stores at different times of the year. The first will be launched on November 24 in the Galerie PVM, at Place Ville Marie.
Finally, XP_MTL, the only branch of the group that retains its identity, will continue its animation activities to attract local and tourist customers to downtown Montreal, a sector strongly shaken by the pandemic and the popularity of telecommuting. Choirs and acoustic shows are included in the program which will be unveiled next Monday. Already, when XP_MTL was launched in 2019, it was talked about as a response to the “ambient slump” by citing the work on Sainte-Catherine Street, the icy sidewalks and the competition of the suburbs. “There are still a lot of people to pick up, admits Jean-François Daviau, but the signals are positive. »