MOLECULAR CUISINE CHEF OF THE FASHION WORLD, JUSTIN CHOU’S FANTASTIC SUSTAINABLE CROSS-INDUSTRY JOURNEY

It has been an accidental fantastic journey for Justin Chou to become a sustainable fashion pioneer.

As a senior studying for the university entrance exam in 1991, Justin’s favorite entertainment was to watch a trivia game show on Saturday nights. One day, he saw a clip about people on a farm in Texas shooting at the jeans hung on the cement walls to create pairs of “shotgun jeans” with individual unique patterns. Justin was so compelled and inspired that he punctured his jeans with a pick and went out with his friends to show off his new creation. Even though his friends’ moms looked really baffled, he was so proud of his work!

Since then, re-purposing secondhand clothing, or rather, re-designing vintage clothes to highlight their individualities became Justin’s passion. To Justin, all vintage clothing can be literally deconstructed into threads and transformed into new pieces.

“All secondhand clothes or old objects embody their own histories, even the wear and tear or holes in clothes tell different stories. I can tease out some threads of a cloth and put in different materials, or make it into something else, like a tissue case or a throw pillow. What’s important is to keep the stories alive and go through rebirth by upcycling the fabrics while the stories become cherished memories in new chapters.” Smiling, Justin says he is like a molecular cuisine chef of clothes who is fascinated by manipulating the molecules of food and reconstructing them into something different to subvert people’s perceptions of taste. Deconstructing various materials and elements to create another idiosyncratic work is how Justin roams in several fields skillfully and savors the joys.

The interdisciplinary boulevard in fashion design on which Justin treads started from the upcycled bridal gown of his wife. Since then, he collaborated with different people by deconstructing different materials in different spaces to present one fabulous show after another.

Justin has worked on versatile projects from presidents to pets including President Tsai’s formal attire in the First Fashion Gala in Washington D.C. in 2022 and the Double Ten National Day. He has worked with RE. UNIQLO Recycle and Reuse program to upcycle old clothes into pet apparel. More recent projects include collaborations with artist Paul Chiang. Justin represents Chiang’s master artworks with diverse fashion styles to embody the international artistic vogue of Taiwan.

Justin is not only a talented designer but also someone who pushes the boundaries and challenges his team to create innovative and sustainable fashion. The fact that he was the first Taiwanese designer to show in New York Fashion Week is a testament to his creativity and vision. Every new project brings new challenges to his team whenever he comes up with a new proposal. His better half, Dodobird Tung gasps and says, “We have to constantly brace ourselves and keep pushing ourselves to finish each and every impossible mission under a lot of pressure in a short time.”

Justin and his Just In XX team are constantly refining their craft and building on their previous successes. By deconstructing their previous works and using them as a foundation for new designs, they can continue to innovate and push the boundaries of sustainable fashion.