Nana: Fashion has infinite possibilities, and new power is born from it. As a carrier of culture and times, fashion encompasses everything. From trendy to traditional culture, from celebrities, idols to everyone’s daily life, and from West to East, it is our discourse, our power, our time. Through Asian Voice, we hope to spread the local Asian fashion culture to the world by moving cross languages and borders.
In this edition of ASIAN VOICE, we welcome the Melting Sadness, founded together by Chinese famous urban artist, Zhang Quan, and the team of Randomevent. Maybe it’s because Zhang Quan grew up in a relaxed environment, and as an urban artist, he wants to create things that children could understand and find solace in. This concept was also deeply embedded in Melting Sadness. As its name suggests, Melting Sadness started from its foundation and continues to bring joy in a very direct way through its cute designs and bold colors. Collaborating with Adidas and more, Melting Sadness spreads the brand’s spirit of keeping things cute and happy to a wider audience.
Nana: “Melting Sadness,” as the name suggests, presents a vibrant and delightful image. What kind of experience would you like to bring to your community?
Zhang Quan: Melting Sadness has consistently focused on inspiring a desire to embrace cuteness and encouraging people to maintain their own sense of cuteness. We strive to bring happiness to individuals in the most direct and straightforward manner. Therefore, all of the content we create aims to be easily understandable and relatable, with a flat presentation style that allows people to easily grasp its meaning.
Nana: How did the brand manage to achieve the fusion of trend and art?
Zhang Quan: Due to my unique identity as an artist, the original purpose of creating the brand was to facilitate the simple and direct dissemination of art, allowing people to comprehend it more swiftly. Therefore, throughout the development of Melting Sadness, I have integrated my artistic creations, making them accessible through exhibitions and other channels that connect with products. This approach enables people to engage with these messages more readily, creating a natural fusion of fashion and art.
Nana: Melting Sadness had many impressive before such as with Adidas in 2020, can you discuss any notable collaborations that you have done before?
Zhang Quan: The collaborations of Melting Sadness are truly deserving of everyone’s attention and refined taste, as each partnership has been infused with immense passion and dedication. Each collaboration stands as a unique creation, akin to my own artistic endeavors. Over the past two years, the attention has primarily been on the partnership between Melting Sadness and adidas. However, it’s worth noting that we have also collaborated with esteemed brands such as Casio’s G-SHOCK, CROCS, CHAMPION, and more. Each collaboration brings forth a fresh creation and tells a brand new story.
Nana: Is there a particular artist, movie, place, book that you would recommend our readers to check for inspiration?
Zhang Quan: I highly recommend Takashi Murakami, an artist I’ve admired since my college years. His book, Art struggle theory is a compelling read that I believe would greatly benefit young art practitioners who are serious about their craft. Despite his direct approach, Murakami’s work often stirs mixed emotions and is sometimes criticized for being overly commercial. However, I consider his book to be an excellent guide, akin to a well-crafted formula, offering valuable insights into the professional art world.
Nana: How do you come up with every collection? And can you share with us the narrative behind a particular season that left a lasting impression on you?
Zhang Quan: Every year we start with the creation of “Amusement Park”, for example, in last year’s 22nd year of the “Amusement Park” series, we focused more on the Chinese content, we hope that after the end of the epidemic, the door of the country is opened, so that people can know more about what the Chinese young people are doing. We hope that after the end of the epidemic and the opening of the country’s doors, we can let everyone know more about what Chinese young people are doing. We set the whole story line in a “rabbit hole”, hoping to find more Chinese elements by digging underground and discovering cultural relics in the amusement park, and at the same time, through the multiple forms of exhibitions and products, we will continue to express our call for everyone to keep the lovely spiritual core.
Nana: Are there any challenges and difficulties that you would like to share with us during the process of running your brand?
Zhang Quan: Every day is facing more and more fresh challenges, every day is not as easy as it seems to everyone, people see more of our simple and direct side, in fact, every day is quite difficult, but all insist on carrying on.
Nana: Do you have any advice for our readers who are seeking to find a way to start their own brand in the fashion industry just like you?
Zhang Quan: My advice is like what was answered in the previous question, young people who want to do something new should be more determined to not be trippy and be more focused on doing that thing they are good at.
Young people who want to do something new should be more determined and be more focused on doing that thing they are good at.
Text by Yiyao Zhang
Nana: Can you share with us what motivated you to start a fashion brand as an urban artist collaborating with Randomevent initially?
Zhang Quan: In 2015, due to some fortuitous circumstances, I held an exhibition at PSA in Shanghai. The content of the exhibition revolved around a project I called the “肥肠计划“（Pork Intestines Project） One of the artworks featured in the exhibition was the opening of a “肥肠面馆“（Pork Intestines Noodle House.） My intention was to use this grounded approach of a noodle house to introduce people to contemporary art and create an experience where each bowl of noodles felt like participating in an art project.
Additionally, I wanted to leverage the power of commerce for a wider reach and engage in playful collaboration with other artists. As a result, I established a “Pork Intestines Bank” and introduced a currency called the “Pork Intestines Coin”, which served as a redemption mechanism. Through the “Pork Intestines Coin,” individuals could exchange it for various merchandise and products. It was during this time that I fortuitously met Hong Yang (the founder of Randomevent), and together we created nearly 100 derivative products under the project name “Pork Intestines Project x Randomevent.” The exhibition received excellent feedback, with many considering it an intriguing and enjoyable endeavor. We had numerous exchanges and interactions throughout that period.
In 2016, we contemplated the idea of taking the character of KARORO and launching a new brand, thus marking the beginning of Melting Sadness.
Nana: “Melting Sadness,” as the name suggests, presents a vibrant and delightful image. What kind of experience would you like to bring to your community?
Zhang Quan: Melting Sadness has consistently focused on inspiring a desire to embrace cuteness and encouraging people to maintain their own sense of cuteness. We strive to bring happiness to individuals in the most direct and straightforward manner. Therefore, all of the content we create aims to be easily understandable and relatable, with a flat presentation style that allows people to easily grasp its meaning.
Nana: How did the brand manage to achieve the fusion of trend and art?
Zhang Quan: Due to my unique identity as an artist, the original purpose of creating the brand was to facilitate the simple and direct dissemination of art, allowing people to comprehend it more swiftly. Therefore, throughout the development of Melting Sadness, I have integrated my artistic creations, making them accessible through exhibitions and other channels that connect with products. This approach enables people to engage with these messages more readily, creating a natural fusion of fashion and art.
Nana: Melting Sadness had many impressive before such as with Adidas in 2020, can you discuss any notable collaborations that you have done before?
Zhang Quan: The collaborations of Melting Sadness are truly deserving of everyone’s attention and refined taste, as each partnership has been infused with immense passion and dedication. Each collaboration stands as a unique creation, akin to my own artistic endeavors. Over the past two years, the attention has primarily been on the partnership between Melting Sadness and adidas. However, it’s worth noting that we have also collaborated with esteemed brands such as Casio’s G-SHOCK, CROCS, CHAMPION, and more. Each collaboration brings forth a fresh creation and tells a brand new story.
Nana: Is there a particular artist, movie, place, book that you would recommend our readers to check for inspiration?
Zhang Quan: I highly recommend Takashi Murakami, an artist I’ve admired since my college years. His book, Art struggle theory is a compelling read that I believe would greatly benefit young art practitioners who are serious about their craft. Despite his direct approach, Murakami’s work often stirs mixed emotions and is sometimes criticized for being overly commercial. However, I consider his book to be an excellent guide, akin to a well-crafted formula, offering valuable insights into the professional art world.
Nana: How do you come up with every collection? And can you share with us the narrative behind a particular season that left a lasting impression on you?
Zhang Quan: Every year we start with the creation of “Amusement Park”, for example, in last year’s 22nd year of the “Amusement Park” series, we focused more on the Chinese content, we hope that after the end of the epidemic, the door of the country is opened, so that people can know more about what the Chinese young people are doing. We hope that after the end of the epidemic and the opening of the country’s doors, we can let everyone know more about what Chinese young people are doing. We set the whole story line in a “rabbit hole”, hoping to find more Chinese elements by digging underground and discovering cultural relics in the amusement park, and at the same time, through the multiple forms of exhibitions and products, we will continue to express our call for everyone to keep the lovely spiritual core.
Nana: Are there any challenges and difficulties that you would like to share with us during the process of running your brand?
Zhang Quan: Every day is facing more and more fresh challenges, every day is not as easy as it seems to everyone, people see more of our simple and direct side, in fact, every day is quite difficult, but all insist on carrying on.
Nana: Do you have any advice for our readers who are seeking to find a way to start their own brand in the fashion industry just like you?
Zhang Quan: My advice is like what was answered in the previous question, young people who want to do something new should be more determined to not be trippy and be more focused on doing that thing they are good at.
Young people who want to do something new should be more determined and be more focused on doing that thing they are good at.
Text by Yiyao Zhang
