Madison Van Der Lingen: Sustainability and Maximalism in Fashion

In an interview with Southwest Contemporary, Albuquerque fashion designer Madison Van Der Lingen shares insights about her artistic journey. Originally from Taos and trained in theatrical costume design, she established MadVan Design in 2019, focusing on crafting wearable sculptures from repurposed textiles. Her creations have been showcased in the 'Art of Reuse' group exhibition at the Richard Levy Gallery in Albuquerque (2026), as well as at Paris Fashion Week and during Meow Wolf Denver's 'Absolute Rubbish' runway event. Additionally, she serves as the executive producer for Albuquerque Fashion Week, which began in 2025. Van Der Lingen emphasizes the freedom of being an outsider, her dedication to zero-waste fashion, and her most impractical creation—a dress made of approximately eighty hand-sewn loofahs. She expresses a desire to collaborate with Sarah Sherman (Sarah Squirm) and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, advising those on the margins to "Protect your weirdness, but don't worship it."