M.A.D. Festival is an annual event created by the M.A.D. Collective that celebrates creativity and diversity in downtown Montreal. Over the course of several days, the festival offers a multitude of artistic and cultural activities, ranging from live music to dance, visual arts, fashion and more. With over 550,000 festival-goers each year, the M.A.D. festival is a showcase for emerging artists, local designers and international icons who come to share their passion with the public.
M.A.D. Collective has been producing and designing experiential events in Quebec, Canada and internationally for nearly 23 years. Recognized for having produced the largest fashion events in Canada, including the M.A.D. Festival (formerly the Fashion & Design Festival), M.A.D. Collective has also created unique concepts such as the Fashion Theatre (on stages in Berlin, Tokyo, New York and London), the Fashion & Opera Runway Show in Los Angeles and more recently, the URBANI_T Festival in Toronto and the Urban Games Festival in Montreal. These innovative events serve as an international showcase for the creativity and talent of our creators.
What makes us different
Our causes and values
DRESS TO EXPRESS
What could be better than being yourself and “expressing” yourself through your personality? The Festival has set up a movement: #dresstoexpress, which means freedom of expression through style, your own style. DRESS TO EXPRESS is our support and commitment to inclusivity.
A SHOW TO SUPPORT FIRST NATIONS
We are proud to contribute to diversity through fashion and the arts. That’s why in 2022 we created, alongside the Government of Canada: FUTURES DIVERGENTS. A collaboration between Indigenous Fashion Arts with the participation of Sage Paul to showcase the clothing of Aboriginal designers.
PUBLIC CASTING
How do I participate in the M.A.D. Festival as a model? Our only mandatory beauty criteria is to be yourself. That’s why we have set up a public casting open to everyone without any physical selection criteria. The goal? To make people forget the diktat of fashion and to allow all people (18 years old and more) who dream of becoming models, to parade on our catwalks alongside famous designers.
THE KIKI BALLROOM
The 2SLGBTQIA+ community is very important to the M.A.D. Festival, and that’s why we love to make them shine. Kiki ballroom is a culture rooted in great community values, so it was a no-brainer for us to incorporate them into our programming.
OUR SOCIAL COMMITMENT
The M.A.D. Festival hosted a RELUXE fashion show in support of Le Chaînon’s struggling women. The funds raised during the Festival were donated to Le Chaînon and the women in need.
OUR ECOLOGICAL COMMITMENT
A Festival has an ecological impact, and that’s why we do our best every year to reduce our carbon footprint:
- Less paper printing this year
- Several points to refill water bottles
- We encourage everyone to come by public transportation
- The food offered during the Festival is partly vegetarian or vegan
- Buying local is one of our priorities with more than 50 pop ups present during the four days
- On a daily basis, we reduce our digital (deleting emails) and physical ecological footprint
MENTAL HEALTH
For the first time in 2022, we have decided to host the Happy Tears Pop Up which inspires its community to prioritize mental health and happiness. Another value that is dear to the M.A.D. Festival.
