Forget fast fashion; invest in your community. Support Sage, the Montreal/Toronto clothing brand focused on East Asian representation and community.

We interviewed the Sage and got to know the talented, hardworking friends behind the brand. But that's not all -- Sage happens to be our first brand sponsorship and has gifted us something extra special for YOU, our community. Stick around till the end of the article to find out how you can get some Sage swag for free.

Malaika for Also Cool: How did Sage get started? What are your backgrounds, and how did you all decide to come together?

Sage: In Fall 2017, Yutong, Rulin and I were in the back of a bubble tea shop, our regular hangout spot on Sainte-Catherine street. I took a sip of my Yuzu drink and asked Rulin and Yutong, if they wanted to start a clothing brand. We loved browsing through SSENSE and Haven seasonal sales, so creating something related to fashion was always of interest. At first, they feared that we would release something undifferentiated, but after debating about the brand's purpose we decided to focus on the thing we knew best, which was expressing our passion for East Asian culture. 

While we brainstormed for ideas, it became apparent that we needed a sense of artistic direction. The only person perfect for the role that we could think of was Victoria. She grew up downtown and was exposed to high-end Japanese brands while we still thought Urban Outfitters was the pinnacle of streetwear. One day after class, while she was waiting for the bus, I approached her without a concise proposition and asked if she wanted to join our newly formed brand. In line with our brand's direction, Sage was complete with a tastemaker!

Also Cool: Tell us a bit about the "In the Heat of the Sun" collection and the artist collaborations that came with it.

Sage: Our newest collection "In the Heat of the Sūn" is an interpretation of the classic Chinese story "Journey to the West". For my first five years in Canada, I only had Chinese cable TV at home. I had no idea who Spider-Man or Superman were and instead, my idea of a hero came from Sun Wukong, a hooligan monkey. We wanted to give exposure to this icon so we used visual elements from shows we used to watch such as "Havoc in Heaven" and the "Journey to the West 1986 TV" series as an inspiration for "In the Heat of the Sūn". 

With every drop, we try to involve various local artists in order to grow our community! For our past collections, we used to host physical popups in galleries and bubble tea stores in order to showcase our new merch, blast Nujabes beats and feature works from local artists. However, COVID hit Montreal and Sage took a major L regarding our ability to host our usual events so we decided to make a virtual shift. Over the summer, we linked up with Hae-In from Underdog and approached her with the idea of co-hosting an interactive-virtual popup. We brought in new members to the team, mostly our close friends, to create a new Sage online experience. We believe all our efforts paid off since we got so many heartwarming feedbacks which is something we're very grateful and proud of.

AC: What kind of visual and musical inspirations influence Sage as a brand?

Sage: We are mostly inspired by things we grew up with. Whether it be from popular media like 90's Hong Kong drama to mundane memories like Victoria's mom watering her money tree, we try to incorporate whatever influenced or has influenced us into our products. We then draw or re-design those inspirations from our own perspective!

AC: Can you describe one of your favourite childhood memories?

Yutong: My dad driving me on his motorcycle with 3 wheels to night stalls to eat yangrouchuan

Vic: Going shopping 

Mike: Looking at freshwater turtles at the pet store 

Rulin: When I was walking down the street in Beijing, and I saw a guy I knew and I was like, hey! It's that guy!

AC: What's next for Sage? Do you have anything exciting planned for this year?

Sage: We are consistently working on bringing new projects, capsules and collections! We are always open to collaborate so feel free to shoot us an email or DM anytime. As for the upcoming months, we are working on a new capsule that will be VERY cozy.

AC: How can we best support Sage and the artists that you collaborate with?

Sage: Minimum of 200$ spending on every drop :). Just coming to our events and pop-ups is good enough! Our main goal is to be able to connect and chill with as many of you guys as possible. 

Also, check out the lit artists featured on our virtual popup for this drop here. 

Now that you love Sage as much as we do, why not rep the brand? Sage has been gracious enough to gift us some exclusive merch for an Also Cool x Sage GIVEAWAY!

The giveaway INCLUDES one reversible Sage bucket hat (black and beige), a Sage dark green Family tee (exclusive to this giveaway), a green limited-edition Also Cool tote, and as many Also Cool stickers as we can fit into the mailer. Giveaway details below.

SUPPORT SAGE

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Giveaway details:

• ENTER by following the rules on our Instagram post “SAGE X ALSO COOL GIVEAWAY”

• Share & tag us in your story for an EXTRA ENTRY

• The Sage t-shirt is a unisex size “medium”

• The giveaway OPENS Saturday September 25th 2020 at 11am and CLOSES exactly a week after

• The giveaway is open internationally

Please DM or email Also Cool with any questions about the giveaway, or future brand partnerships

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