Overview: Who is Ma Ke?
Ma Ke is a Chinese haute couturier and fashion designer. Ma Ke graduated from the Suzhou Institute of Silk and Textile Technology in 1992. Just a few years later, after graduating, Ma Ke opened her own label titled “Exception de Mixmind.” Through her prolific time as the creative behind Exception de Mixmind, Exception de Mixmind became known as the first Chinese designer brand. With over 100 stores around the Chinese mainland. With this success, Ma Ke eventually created ties with the Chinese First Lady, Peng Liyuan, and has dressed her on many occasions. Liyuan even made the list of the best-dressed women in Vanity Fair in 2013. Ma Ke was behind every one of her looks.
Why make this article?
The success of is not the reason I am covering Ma Ke, though. There is more to Ma Ke than dressing the Chinese first lady and creating a brand known around China. In 2006, after Ma Ke left Exception de Mixmind, she decided to start a new label titled “Wuyong.” Wuyong in Chinese means “useless.” With this title given to the clothes, the philosophy of the concept behind what is actually useless, what constitutes a useless garment, or creation. With this concept as the background to her creations at this time, Ma Ke created garments that seem old, dusty, rotten, and filled with age. But with age comes wisdom, and Ma Ke’s use of these fabrics generated a sense of security and a life behind the clothes.
Production and Career
Ma Ke’s Wuyong line was strictly produced in the Zhuhai province of China. In creating the line, Ma Ke hired tens of traditional craftsmen and craftswomen to create her couture. Using traditional methods such as the Chinese loom and equipment dating all the way back to the 19th century. Everything was made in-house and by hand. Wuyong also focuses on sustainability as well. For example, in a lot of her garments, Wuyong upcycled old tarpaulin and created a huge coat, as well as found objects, deadstock material, and paint-covered sheets in her 2007 Haute Couture collection titled “Wuyong/the Earth.” Which was later put on display in the Joyce Palais-Royal in Paris, France. This was deemed by critics as "brilliant... one of the great moments of the season.” by Elle Magazine.
After her major success in 2007, 2008 was Ma Ke’s breakout year. Starting with hosting her new collection in the Victoria & Albert Museum in the UK. This collection looked like a modern-day terracotta army. Garments consisted of knit, cotton, and tweed. Seemingly so dusty and “useless” that walking into the room with these models would genuinely make you feel like you're choking on dust. Every single garment was the same shade of brown. I can’t even name the color they all are because it is a mixture of everything. Every single model looks like they came from out of the ground, in perfect condition, like an artifact. Which is eerily similar to the Terracotta Army of Qin Shi Huang. All of these garments were also produced in the Zhuhai province with her team. (It blows my mind how they got the clothing to look like this, and the makeup is just (0-0'))
Ma Ke’s Wuyong had a short run in the Haute Couture fashion industry, though. With only two collections, Ma Ke brought Chinese culture and processes into the eyes of Parisian, European, and Western media and created something no one would ever forget if they laid their eyes on it.
A video on Ma Ke's 2008 collection behind the scenes:
Final Thoughts:
Ma Ke should be a designer, which a lot more people should know about, in my opinion. She was the first Chinese designer to show at Paris’s Haute Couture Week, and she showed the world how the word "useless" could mean so much. I love Ma Ke and the work that she created. It gives me a sense of security when I look at her clothing and her art. She is a true artist and created something bold. She was a trailblazer for Chinese fashion and will be remembered by everyone who viewed her jaw-dropping exhibits and collections.
There is also a documentary that has ties to Ma Ke as well, titled “Useless.” Although I cannot find the movie, it is out there, and if anyone can find it, please let me know.
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