It’s easy to think of Madison Van Der Lingen and MadVan Designs as a local Denver fashion brand, with the designer preparing to show for her third time at Denver Fashion Week. But while the business is actually based in Albuquerque, Van Der Lingen says that putting her collections on the runway in Denver is worth the four-hour drive.
“There’s not really a fashion scene in Albuquerque,” she says, “so I go to Denver a lot for the fashion community.” She describes the Mile High fashion scene as having a high level of professionalism: “Everyone is really down to collaborate and make art for art purposes, and I love that.”
Van Der Lingen started fashion design after earning her Bachelor of Arts degree in costume design from the University of New Mexico and working in Albuquerque’s growing film business. “We have Netflix here, NBC Universal and Amazon Studios, because there’s a tax incentive and the mild weather,” she explains. “But I realized that wasn’t for me. I didn’t like the hours or the environment, so I decided to pursue my own creative endeavors.”
Van Der Lingen is inspired by artists who have a bold style, such as Yayoi Kusama, Hayao Miyazaki and Minju Kim. It’s easy to see the connection in her work, which showcases designs with drape, ruffle and volume accented with sparkles, tassels and layers of texture.
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From MadVan Designs’ Feather Collection.
Chris Gama
She playfully says that her designs come from the “land of enchantment” — a double entendre, as it’s also New Mexico’s slogan. Each MadVan collection has a unique name and a unique story behind it. Her first collection, titled Forlorn Widow, consisted of extravagant outfits that a woman would wear after killing her billionaire husband and inheriting all of his money. “So she looks fabulous when the police show up,” Van Der Lingen says with a grin.
The next collection, titled Feather, came about during the COVID-19 lockdowns and was meant to bring comfort and cozy vibes during an uncertain time. Last year’s Hidden Spring collection stemmed from her recurring dream of being a child and finding a hidden spring and creatures who care for it.
But it was her family’s roots that inspired two distinct collections: Carnival, based on the carnival festivals of Spain, where her father’s family lives, and her Low Country collection, whose whimsical, magical folklore aesthetic was inspired by her mother’s side of the family in Holland.
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From MadVan Designs’ Carnival Collection.
Chris Gama
Her current collection, which will appear at Denver Fashion Week, is titled Invisible Spaces and is inspired by a journey during which people notice the things they would normally pass by. Van Der Lingen credits her “overactive imagination” for the ideas in her collections, and notes that music plays a big role. “I create playlists instead of mood boards,” she says. “I look for music that creates an atmosphere of the world I’m trying to build. I love when I find instrumental music that fits the mood with added elements, like birds chirping, rain and wind.” Some of her playlists can be found on her Spotify page.
While she no longer works in the film industry, it still serves as an outlet in the MadVan world: Van Der Lingen creates what she calls “fashion films” to showcase her work. “There are a lot of creative film people in New Mexico. I work with a really awesome filmmaker named Mohammad Shaikh, aka Mango Shake, who shot my Carnival and Submerged films,” she says. “My photographer, Chris Gama, shot the Low Country film.”
Van Der Lingen says the films are an extension of the YouTube videos she made with her friends as a kid, but more elevated: “It just adds a new element to fashion. For the Feather video, we created a virtual runway in the forest during COVID quarantine.”
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From MadVan Designs’ Hidden Spring Collection.
Chris Gama
MadVan also prides itself on being a woman- and Hispanic-owned brand, something that’s important for Van Der Lingen to distinguish. “I want to support women because it’s harder as a woman to own something yourself. I personally feel that people don’t take me seriously because I’m a woman and I’m young,” she explains. “As for being Hispanic, a lot of my creativity comes from my culture, and I want to put that into my art.”
One show MadVan participated in that had everyone talking was the Meow Wolf “Trashion” fashion show, in which designers were asked to repurpose unexpected items into a look. Van Der Lingen took the opportunity to make a statement on fast fashion by not using fabric pieces, but the plastic bags they come in. She created a bright-yellow skirt and umbrella made of Forever 21 bags and an overcoat made of Shein bags. She says she acquired the bags by asking for them on Instagram, and friends were willing to help out. “I was meeting people in parking lots to get Shein bags!” she laughs.
Van Der Lingen admits that she shopped fast fashion in the past, until she learned the behind-the-scenes of that industry. “I saw a news story about seamstresses in other countries who were putting slips of paper into the garments asking for help. They were being worked to the bone and not being paid for it and received no benefits,” she says. “I was just developing my brand, and pivoted to being a sustainable and eco-friendly company. I make it my priority not to take advantage of anybody, the planet or our resources.”
The designer says she currently has one person working for her and acquires most of her fabric from people who give it to her. “I knew this lady who was a hoarder, and she gave me so much fabric, I’m trying to get through it all. I try to disperse it to other seamstresses I know, too,” Van Der Lingen says. “Creating the outfit for the Meow Wolf show out of plastic bags inspired me to work with not-so-typical textiles, as well.”
For now, she’s preparing her new collection and getting ready for her show at Denver Fashion Week. This time, she’s bringing models from Albuquerque. “It’s a little easier to do the fittings here and bring them with me,” she explains. “A lot of us like to go to Denver because there’s not much going on here.”
Her involvement with DFW began in 2018, when she auditioned to be a model and ended up walking for local designer Steve Sells. “I was still in school, and I just loved the environment,” she says. “I started my first collection as my thesis project for college, and I decided to see if I could get it in Denver Fashion Week. And weirdly, I got accepted! I didn’t even have anything made; I just had renderings. But they took a chance on me, and it was awesome!”
Van Der Lingen says her new collection is a bit radical and might be controversial to some people. “There’s a lot of camouflage; it’s a little political,” she notes. “There’s a statement about student debt, which I struggle with, that might be a little shocking. I’m trying to take out some of my frustration in my art.”
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A coat made of Shein bags made an appearance at Meow Wolf’s “Trashion” fashion show.
Chris Gama
Van Der Lingen says her fashion shows are often a mix of all types of pieces she makes, from loungewear to evening gowns. “After the pandemic, people were drawn to wearing loungewear on a daily basis. So I thought it would be funny to create comfy lounge clothes you could also wear to a club, and blurring that line,” she explains.
She adds that she makes some custom evening-wear pieces for people to wear to film festivals and charity galas, as well as drag queen performances, but admits it’s the hardest thing to sell, because there aren’t enough formal events for people to invest in high-ticket gowns. “I rent them out, but they often come back stained or damaged, and I have to front the cost to clean and repair them,” she says.
Even through the challenges of being a fashion designer, Van Der Lingen says it’s worth it to see her work come to life on the runway, in fashion films and out in the wild.
“There is a lot of power in what we wear, and I think it’s just grand if my clothing brings people joy and confidence when they wear it,” she concludes.
MadVan Designs will be at Denver Fashion Week Day 6 Society, 6 to 10 p.m. Thursday, November 16, York Street Yards, 3827 Steele Street. Find tickets and more designers to see at denverfashionweek.com.