Madeline Woo deviates almost entirely from the traditional ballet cliché. The acclaimed principal dancer of San Francisco Ballet has amassed millions of views online documenting her daily life in the studio. See her explosive grand allegro or the mind boggling act of thwacking $150 pointe shoes against the floor. Woo is renowned for her sartorial choices too, often opting for a distressed, all-black wardrobe. Cutting up existing pieces (like the tights she fashioned into a shrug) allows for a level of self-expression only furthered by the intricate tattoos covering Woo’s upper body.
Now, the premiärdansare, principal dancer, is looking to a new stage in Stockholm Fashion Week. Enter MADDWOO, the dancer’s clothing line grounded in deconstruction and identity. Underpinned by Woo’s own defiant taste, the garments often blur the line between dance and streetwear, pulling a wide audience who value movement. COLD chatted with Madeline two days before the debut runway show.
CM: Hi Madeline, it’s lovely to meet you. Obviously you have been doing ballet for a really long time. How does your brand MADDWOO represent your journey so far?
MW: It’s definitely a reflection of my experience in the studio finding confidence in my body through fashion. I thought I could provide a very niche perspective coming from the ballet world, my knowledge of the customisations dancers do and the subcultures, and wondered how I could translate that into a clothing brand.
CM: I have always thought that ballet uniforms are typically very restrictive and impersonal.
MW: Oh yes, I absolutely hated them. You are dancing in front of the mirror, analysing yourself every single day. The uniform doesn’t do you any favours. It is so unflattering. When I was back in school, the culture was more traditional. Now, it has changed a bit and teachers are being educated on how they make young dancers feel when they tell them to lose weight not because of a lack of talent but because of the way they look.
CM: I feel like it is easier to compare yourself to other people when everyone is dressed the same too.
MW: Totally. And that is all you’re doing.
CM: When did you found MADDWOO and how did you end up on the calendar for Stockholm Fashion Week?
MW: It was very quick. We founded the brand in October 2024 when I was off work with my first major injury. It made me take a step back and think about some things. I was like, oh god what if the injury was much worse and I couldn’t dance anymore? That would be my entire life, all the time I had invested in it, gone. I wondered how I could use my experience in a different way and channel it into something I am passionate about.. So me and my partner, Ethan, decided to start our fashion brand MADDWOO.
In the beginning it was very slow, neither of us knew what to do with finding manufacturers and prototyping. There was a manufacturer that we kind of got ripped off by in the beginning but it is all water under the bridge honestly, because it is just part of being new to something.
Fast forward to after our first launch, we were trying to contact the Association of Swedish Fashion Brands who produce Stockholm Fashion Week. We had been trying to reach out to them for a while, and three months ago they let us know we had been accepted into the programme for Stockholm Fashion Week. We had no idea how hard it is to prepare for a show in three months!
CM: Three months is no time at all for a show!
MW: Oh my god, we have been hustling! It’s crazy, no weekends. My team here in Stockholm has been working every single day until like 10pm–11pm.
CM: Is a lot of your production based in Stockholm?
MW: Yes, we are fully based in Stockholm. I wanted to base the brand here because I was so in love with the work culture and the work life balance. Coming from America myself and knowing how difficult the conditions can be there… It is a lifetime of difference. I also worked with the Royal Swedish Ballet for eight years.
CM: So you have a lot of ties to Stockholm?
MW: Oh definitely. A big soft spot for Sweden in general.
CM: On materials, I know you really value recycled and sustainable materials.
MW: We are fully supplied by EU countries, with a lot of the materials coming from Portugal and Italy. We are big on not wasting anything so we avoid over-producing by doing made-to-order low quantity drops. What we don’t use we upcycle into other garments. We have had a lot of people reach out to us with custom requests so we can contact our seamstresses and work together on a special prototype.
CM: It is so nice you work so closely with your manufacturers, a lot of brand founders don’t.
MW: Yeah I mean it is so important. I am very particular too!
CM: What do you see coming out of this Stockholm Fashion Week Collection?
MW: We are already working on a flash drop of pieces that will feature in the runway show. We are planning on releasing some deconstructed jorts, and an essentials line soon. Eyewear, jewellery too. There is a lot in the works.
CM: I could see you doing a collaboration with Gentle Monster, you would be a perfect match.
MW: Stop, that’s my dream! I would love that.
CM: In terms of your personal style, how would you describe it?
MW: I would say it is more of a grunge-y ballet core. I love a deconstructed, raw, patchwork look. Things that look ruined but make it fashion!
CM: Whilst we are on it, what do you think of ballet core? Although the trend has died down a bit, it felt like a complete misrepresentation of what classes actually look like.
MW: It is completely misconstrued. It makes me cringe a bit, the balletcore that brands were promoting is like baby ballet [for 2-4 year olds].
CM: It undermines how much strength and athleticism it requires too
MW: Exactly. With MADDWOO, I wanted to bring a more authentic version of balletcore.
CM: Do you think the inspiration behind the pieces came from your own style or from watching company members too?
MW: I built this style around my own taste but it is influenced by things I see around me too. So many people in my company wear things that are completely ripped up. The guys especially wear their shirts to death. People’s fashion sense in the ballet world is so funny because we are all “artists” and everyone has their little quirks. Some of the pieces in the show are influenced by things more seasoned dancers do, like wrapping crochet knits around them as a skirt or a shawl.
CM: I guess that at a company level teachers don’t care about what you wear.
MW: Once you get into a company anything goes. There are of course things people are going to judge. When I first started wearing crop tops in a company it was definitely looked down upon and seen as scandalous. When I got tattoos too, it caused an uproar and was the drama of the week and then it died down.
CM: How do you see MADDWOO evolving in the future?
MW: This collection for Stockholm Fashion Week was focused on the subcultures of the ballet world and the niche things dancers do to personalise their clothes. I want to dive into subcultures of other artforms and sports, like ice skating and skate boarding. Do collabs with really cool people who are “disruptors” in their industry and push the traditional boundaries of a dancewear brand.