Angel Chang

Change Agent, Designer, Environmentalist, Social entrepreneur, World traveler

ANGEL CHANG is a womenswear designer from New York who creates versatile dressing solutions for worldly women on the go. Her previous eponymous collection (founded in 2006), grew out of a vision to offer women wardrobes that could actually “do things”—beyond just looking good. The collection’s use of innovative materials, including color-changing prints, light-up fabrics, and self-heating linings, was a first for the American designer market. As a result of these pioneering efforts, Angel received the coveted Ecco Domani Fashion Foundation Award and the prestigious Cartier Women’s Initiative Award within the first year of launching. She was also featured in PAPER magazine’s 10th Annual “Beautiful People” Issue as one of the top emerging talents influencing the fashion field. Since 2009, Angel has worked closely with fabric masters in the rural mountain villages of Guizhou Province, China where ethnic minority families have maintained 1000-year old ancient handweaving and all-natural processes. She learned how to live according to the cycles of nature, off-the-grid and without electricity, and produced a womenswear collection with a nearly zero carbon footprint. Atelier ANGEL CHANG aims to bring global appreciation for indigenous craftsmanship and to revive traditional fabric-making practices in need of urgent safeguarding. In 2012, Angel became the first recipient of Pernod Ricard China’s Le Cercle Fund, an award for social responsibility to support the preservation of traditional craftsmanship in China. She has designed internationally for luxury fashion brands Donna Karan Collection (New York) and Chloe (Paris), and most recently as Head Designer of Lululemon Lab, the innovation incubator of Lululemon Athletica (Vancouver). Angel received an MA in Modern Art from Columbia University, and BA cum laude in Art History & Visual Arts from Barnard College. She currently lives in New York.

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The textile industry is the second largest global polluter, and apparel production contributes 20% of the world's total pollution. We need a more environmentally sustainable approach to producing clothes. Indigenous cultures, like the ethnic minorities of Guizhou Province in rural China, may offer alternative solutions. Their farm-to-fabric approach, which includes hand-dying and weaving, offer a carbon-neutral, non-polluting way of producing clothing today.