Fashion designer and university professor Ying Gao decided while she was completing a master’s in Interactive media that she had enough of being told ’designing is pointless.’
’To work in the fashion industry, all you seemed to need to know was how to copy. I pondered a great deal on the role of the fashion designer, and I wanted to do what a designer was supposed to do – to create and innovate,’ she says.
Gao has since taken to perfecting a precise yet almost Lilliputian design style through the concept of ’modulatable’ clothing, designing pieces that invisibly integrate microelectronic technology with fashion design. Technology is just as much a source of inspiration as Montreal – ’I love this city’ muses Gao.
It seems the city feels the same way about her, with the mayor of Montreal having awarded her the Phyllis-Lambert Design Montreal grant earlier this year. Gao’s latest offering is ‘post-vernissage’, a limited edition collection of conceptual garments made with fine materials and featuring the subtle ‘modulatable’ characteristics that are bound to be Gao’s trademark for years to come.
Fab 40: Ying Gao Fashion, Montreal

The Bombardier Learjet

Interior of the Learjet
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The Bombardier Learjet

The Staircase House by Cindy Rendely, Toronto
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The Staircase House by Cindy Rendely, Toronto

The Staircase House by Cindy Rendely, Toronto

The Staircase House by Cindy Rendely, Toronto

The Staircase House by Cindy Rendely, Toronto

Coast restaurant, Vancouver
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Coast restaurant, Vancouver

Coast restaurant, Vancouver

Coast restaurant, Vancouver

Coast restaurant, Vancouver

Coast restaurant, Vancouver

Coast restaurant, Vancouver

Coast restaurant, Vancouver

Coast restaurant, Vancouver

Coast restaurant, Vancouver

Supernova by Douglas Coupland
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Talking sticks by Douglas Coupland

Penguin Pretty Vacant by Douglas Coupland

Coyote by Douglas Coupland

Patricide by Douglas Coupland

Penguin Cumshot by Douglas Coupland

Penguin Clash by Douglas Coupland

Matricide Silver Skate by Douglas Coupland

Matricide Beer by Douglas Coupland

Drip Maple Syrup
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Drip Maple Syrup

Form & Forest by D’Arcy Jones Design
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Form & Forest by D’Arcy Jones Design

Form & Forest by D’Arcy Jones Design

Form & Forest by D’Arcy Jones Design

Form & Forest by D’Arcy Jones Design

Form & Forest by D’Arcy Jones Design

The Keefer Hotel, Vancouver
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The Keefer Hotel, Vancouver

The Keefer Hotel, Vancouver

The Keefer Hotel, Vancouver

The Keefer Hotel, Vancouver

The Keefer Hotel, Vancouver

Laneway House, Toronto, by Kohn Shnier architects
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Laneway House, Toronto, by Kohn Shnier architects

Laneway House, Toronto, by Kohn Shnier architects

Laneway House, Toronto, by Kohn Shnier architects

Richmond Olympic Oval by Cannon Design
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Richmond Olympic Oval by Cannon Design

Richmond Olympic Oval by Cannon Design

Richmond Olympic Oval by Cannon Design

Richmond Olympic Oval by Cannon Design

Richmond Olympic Oval by Cannon Design

Richmond Olympic Oval by Cannon Design

Richmond Olympic Oval by Cannon Design

Richmond Olympic Oval by Cannon Design

Richmond Olympic Oval by Cannon Design

Richmond Olympic Oval by Cannon Design

Territory table and chairs by Samare Design, Montreal
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Territory lounger by Samare design

Territory desk and chair by Samare design

R-Mountie bench and throw by Samare design

Still House by Level Design, Vancouver
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Still House by Level Design, Vancouver

Still House by Level Design, Vancouver

Still House by Level Design, Vancouver

Sunset Cabin by Taylor_Smyth Architects, Toronto
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Sunset Cabin by Taylor_Smyth Architects, Toronto

Sunset Cabin by Taylor_Smyth Architects, Toronto

Sunset Cabin by Taylor_Smyth Architects, Toronto

Sunset Cabin by Taylor_Smyth Architects, Toronto

Sunset Cabin by Taylor_Smyth Architects, Toronto

40R_Laneway House by Süperkul, Toronto
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SHIFT Cottage by Süperkul

The Trans Canada Trail
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The Trans Canada Trail

Nylon Haneda by WANT luggage
WANT luggage, Montreal

Newberry White by WANT luggage

Nylon Haneda by WANT luggage

Dumont black by WANT luggage

Carl Phare’s wooden rollercoaster, designed in 1958, Vancouver
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Carl Phare’s wooden rollercoaster, Vancouver

Fashion by Ying Gao
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Fashion by Ying Gao, Montreal

Fashion by Ying Gao, Montreal