Vancouver Fashion Week SS25 Interview W/ Designer Lexi Chang of HAZI HAUS (Canada)

HAZI HAUS will be presenting their SS25 collections on the runway at VFW on Tues., October 22nd at 6 p.m. You can purchase your tickets HERE.

From the VFW Website - 

Immersed in a world of textiles and garments from a young age, Chang’s love for fashion was fostered by her father, a seasoned professional, in the Taiwan textile industry since the early 80s. Being exposed to the mesmerizing artistry, and craftsmanship of raw materials to wearable art became an integral portion of her childhood. Today, Chang channels this early influence in her own designs, paying homage to her roots, and blending her passion for textiles with her unique experience and vision for sustainable and functional fashion. Bold, and visually striking. Dedicated to innovative design through thoughtful experimentation. Chang is enamored creating garments from shapes and forms in the natural world, and challenging traditional conventions. Taiwanese born, Canadian raised, Chang is eager to design, create and share her narrative.

Interview - 

Please share a bit about your journey to embrace fashion design as a career.

My fascination with fashion was ignited by my father, an erudite salesman in the Taiwan textile industry. Mesmerized by the artistry and craftsmanship of raw materials transformed into wearable art, I found myself surrounded by fabrics and creativity long before I could even thread a needle. I’m driven by my curiosity for the human condition: the rich tapestry of emotions, experiences, and desires that define us. Individuality is the guiding principle that shapes my vision.

Currently, I’m interested in themes of unconventionalism, exploring the interplay between juxtaposition and versatile fabric manipulations. I create garments inspired by shapes and forms in both the natural and artificial world. Very much like an unconventional mosaic of colors, shapes, and textures, my multicultural upbringing heavily influences my design practice. My work is committed to storytelling and connection – to unite us in our felt experiences and break down barriers. I want to invite everyone to see their life from a refreshed, inspired point of view and to embrace our diverse heritage as we dare to challenge the status quo.

How did you learn your skills?

I first taught myself how to sew in highschool, but I’ve always been immersed in the arts. I’ve been painting since the age of six, and the act of splashing colors all over a blank white canvas, letting my creativity go wild, instilled a sense of wonder, exploration, and freedom in me. I discovered myself as an artist who makes the design process very personal. 

With time, I developed a keen eye for colour, the strongest language in my work. I discovered my love for fashion through styling and thrifting in high school. It felt liberating - it was something that I’ve never felt before. It was as if I could finally express myself and have creative control over the way I was perceived by the world around me. I decided to pursue a career in fashion and attended KPU Wilson School of Design where my formal education began. 

In 2020, I went on an exchange program at Leeds Art University, which transpired to be a pivotal moment in my design career. My time at Leeds sparked a major directional change in my design practice - I learned to be freer and less confined by traditional, conventional boundaries in my creative thinking. While design is to serve a purpose, I learned that there can be a sweet spot between functionality and wild imagination. This experimental approach encouraged me to be bolder in the way I tell my story as a designer.

I have also been mentored by Alex S. Yu who encouraged me to pursue something of my own He reassured me and provided the strength I needed to move forward and show my first HAZI HAUS collection on the runway at VFW last season.

Who are you as a designer? Aesthetic? Customer? Brand?

"HAZI HAUS is the cumulation of all the emotions and experiences that fulfill me." It is a tribute to a dear friend in my youth. To the girl who use to affectionately call me little "hasi." From the days when my friends and I would dream of the wonderous things we would one day set off to do. HAZI HAUS is a promise to myself.

After graduation, I went down the path of a corporate 9-5 job. I sensed something was missing, I didn’t feel fulfilled. Deep down, I felt an urgent desire for expression, for creative control, for freedom. So, I launched HAZI HAUS as a project to channel my creativity and challenge myself as an artist. I design for myself and for people who see beauty in the things that I hold dear. I design with the aim of sharing my deepest experiences and emotions in ways that others can relate immensely.

HAZI HAUS gives me a sense of purpose that feels bigger than just myself and my tale as the designer. I want HAZI HAUS to be a collective playground for femmes to daydream, wear, and become our most authentic, magnetic, liberated selves. It’s the attitude, it’s the lifestyle of HAZI HAUS that I can catch in the glint in anyone’s eyes. HAZI HAUS spotlights the divinity in self. Fashion, to me, is living and transitioning into adulthood, is expression and artistry, is history and understanding my heritage, and is a story that my inner child is ready to speak.

What comes easiest for you as a designer? What is hardest?

Brainstorming and ideation come very naturally for me - it’s one of my favorite parts about designing. I love to mindlessly daydream about all the possibilities. It does crush my soul every time I find out that certain ideas are not able to be translated, but I do find joy in problem solving and figuring out how to execute the final design in the best way possible. Hand in hand with my favorite thing about design being daydreaming,

I have a hard time coming to conclusions and making the final call. Of course I want to incorporate all of my experimental ideas, so making executive decisions has always been a weakness of mine. I do believe that it’s important to be assertive and have the ability to discern wants from needs for design to be successful.

Where do you find inspiration for new collections?

I mainly draw inspiration from artificial forms found in architecture, furniture, and sculptures while harmoniously infusing elements of organic shapes derived from nature. For this collection, I find myself most inspired by the emotions I felt in my youth. I have big feelings, and I believe feelings tell the most genuine, touching, invigorating stories. I reminisced on the reckless invincibility of adolescence, the thrilling uncertainty, the curiosity and wonder I felt as I dreamed about exploring a world so big. I felt nostalgic, as I wanted to protect my younger self and embody her youthful energy in my adult life. I wished for her to wear whatever she wants without care for judgment or objectification. I wished for her to feel empowered in the clothes she wore. In a world that tries to squeeze girls and women into a predetermined ornamental box, I want femmes to own the fearless spirit of adolescence, of unabashed imagination, of freedom and self-expression. Juvenescence Thalia embodies just that.

How important is color to your design process?

Color is a very significant element in my collections. Color evokes strong emotions. The right color speaks the right language. This season, I’m channeling my feminine energy by utilizing a wide range of light tinted shades to convey warm feelings I felt in my adolescent years, as a teenage girl. Color combination with prints, patterns, and graphics is another crucial step in my design process. The highlights and shadows in the fabrics present different moods and shades of color as well. The sparkles in the fabric add another shade, like the Chanel tweed jacket adorned with sequins from the collection. The sequins reflect light and glimmer as the wearer moves.

Readers would love to know more about the collection you will be showing at Vancouver Fashion Week.

"Juvenescence Thalia" is a celebration of youth, inspired by Thalia, the muse of blooming and flourishing. This collection embodies the rejuvenating vitality of youth through a harmonious blend of soft pastels and bold accents, combining open and textural knits with vibrant high sheen materials. Featuring fluid silhouettes, playful details, and floral motifs and textures, each piece embodies the charming naiveté and nerve of adolescence.

Following HAZI HAUS’s first collection, “Inner Child Ambrosia” in FW24, Juvenescence Thalia captures the sequence of life that flows from childhood to adulthood. The inspiration adorning Juvenescence Thalia is rooted in my desire to relive a liberated adolescence, free from societal and cultural perceptions that suppress girls’ authentic self-expression. Through playing dress-up in the blossoming changes that empower femininity, the collection tells a dream-like coming-of-age story that subverts the male gaze. Juvenescence Thalia ridicules the objectification of maturing femininity and shines the spotlight on more captivating and enchanting narratives, dreamed and lived by girls ourselves.

Contrasted against the darker palettes of the last collection, Juvenescence Thalia explodes girlhood in fun and flirty confetti with bright colors and animated textures that scream, “I don’t care!” Juvenescence Thalia is a tale of anyone’s inner girl – heart fluttering, wide-eyed, she stumbles into a stage of curious exploration and quirky experimentation. Bouncing in a glittery tweed bouclé bubble skirt trailing pink checkered ribbons from her denim jacket, she skips and strides, head held high, towards the glimmering world of young adulthood.

Do you have a favorite look in this collection?

Unfortunately, I don’t have a favorite look in this collection, because each piece offers something unique and speaks to different moods and occasions. I appreciate the variety and how all the pieces reflect different aspects of style, making it difficult to choose just one as my favorite.

Where can readers purchase your designs?

The E-Com website, which is still in the works. The goal is for the website to be set up by next year, so keep an eye out! Until then you can reach out to me through my website or Instagram account.

What's next for you as a designer and your brand?

I plan to continue to unfold and create my narrative through HAZI HAUS, whether it’s through the digital world or physical storytelling on the runway.

Links -

• Website - www.hazihaus.com
• Instagram - @hazihaus