Clothes should support life, not exploit it.
joy mao is a slow fashion studio creating small batches of thoughtfully-made clothing, accessories, and artwork. The brand centers people, process, and pleasure—in pursuit of a more sustainable and joyful way of being.
Chores
Chores is an ongoing, collaborative body of work in Joy Mao’s textile art practice, featuring her hand-embroidered interventions on vintage garments.
Each piece bears a unique pattern of embroidery originally inspired by the unintentional yet beautiful splatters left on an old painting smock — embracing the rhythm of repair and rebirth, and celebrating the stains and scars left as evidence of hard work and deep care.
Collection 1 (No. 1-18) - sold out
Collection 2 ᐧ Season 1 (No. 19-28) - sold out
Collection 2 ᐧ Season 2 (No. 29-38) - arriving December 9, 2024 at 12pm EST
Substack Newsletter
A journal of sorts, with bits and pieces of studio life, reflections on each season of work, and relevant announcements and/or resources.
八宝粥 Ba Bao Zhou
八宝粥 Ba Bao Zhou is a capsule collection celebrating the everyday abundance of our beloved New York Chinatown.
Created in collaboration with Lorraine Lum and the Chinatown community during Joy Mao’s 2022 Artist Residency at The W.O.W. Project, the collection investigates how clothing-making can be a vessel for community care.
An inaugural edition of the collection was made-to-order in August 2022. Stay tuned on Instagram for future releases.
Bai Jia Yi
During her first artist residency at The W.O.W. Project from February-July 2021, Joy Mao created a special Bai Jia Yi (hundred families robe) in collaboration with New York's Chinatown community.
Knit Capsule
joy mao FW21 was a collection of knitted hats featuring fan favorites from FW20's "30 Hats in 30 Days" challenge - in new seasonal colors.
All pieces were lovingly knit by Joy on her Silver Reed SK280 machine with 100% heathered wool yarns manufactured in the United States.
Written by Sophia Li, curated by Cameron Russell, photographed by Camila Falquez, styled by Rachael Wang.
Joy Mao and Lorraine Lum, by Camila Falquez for Porter Magazine
"As an artist and designer of her namesake sustainable brand – a slow-fashion studio creating small batches of clothing, accessories and artwork – Mao champions care that extends past those who you can directly touch, holding space for the unseen."
