Ma Ke

Ma Ke (born 1971 in Changchun, China) is a Chinese fashion designer. She has two clothing labels: EXCEPTION de Mixmind, a ready-to-wear line started in 1996 and retailed in China; and WUYONG, an haute couture line founded in 2006. In 2007, Ma Ke starred in the award-winning documentary Useless by Chinese director Jia Zhangke. In 2008, her fashion house WUYONG was appointed as a Guest member of the Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture in France.

Ma Ke designs have been worn by the Chinese First Lady Peng Liyuan, on several occasions.

Ma Ke is the founder of Mixmind Art & Design Co, Ltd., based in Guangzhou, China. She currently works in her studio in Zhuhai on the southern coast of Guangdong province.

Career

Ma Ke graduated from the Suzhou Institute of Silk Textile Technology in 1992, and studied womenswear at Central Saint Martins. In 1996, she established her first clothing label, EXCEPTION de Mixmind. EXCEPTION is currently sold in the label's own shops in China, In 2005, she presented her clothing at the Shenzhen Biennale of Urbanism and Architecture, and in 2009 her work was on display at the National Art Museum of China.

Ma Ke's designs are celebrated for their use of environmentally friendly fabrics and recycled materials, and for their manufacture using traditional dyeing, weaving and embroidery techniques, most notably those of the Dong people of Southern China. Her fashion house EXCEPTION de Mixmind hosts shows in China each season for their new collections. Ma Ke's first two shows for WUYONG, held more than a year apart, were distinctive for their absence of a runway and for incorporating certain elements of performance art. Her unorthodox shows and anti-consumerist statements have earned Ma Ke a reputation for being anti-fashion, but she is equally lauded for her conscientious efforts to preserve traditions and protect the environment.

WUYONG

In 2006, Ma Ke founded a new fashion label, WUYONG (simplified Chinese: 无用; traditional Chinese: 無用; pinyin: wúyòng), which literally means Useless. Ma Ke's workshop in Zhuhai, which produces the WUYONG collections, employs a team of workers skilled in traditional clothing manufacturing techniques. All stages of production are done in-house, including the spinning, weaving, dyeing and sewing; even using traditional equipment such as a Chinese loom dating from the 19th century.

The collection was later put on display at the gallery Joyce Palais-Royal from March 1 to April 6, 2007.

Ma Ke is not the first Chinese fashion designer to show at Paris Fashion Week. That distinction belongs to the designer Frankie Xie and his label JEFEN, which had its Paris debut in 2006.

Fashion in Motion

In 2008, Ma Ke was invited to reprise WUYONG/the Earth as part of the Fashion in Motion live catwalk events held at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London.

Paris Haute Couture

In May 2008, WUYONG was appointed as a Guest member of the Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture. Her collection, titled WUYONG/Qing pin, was shown in the Jardin du Palais-Royal in Paris on July 3, 2008. There were a number of elements of the performance that made Ma Ke's haute couture debut rather exceptional. The collection was shown outside and in public (most couture shows are strictly invitation only). For models Ma Ke selected a diverse group of modern dancers, martial artists and tai chi practitioners, and in lieu of walking down a runway had them perform a choreographed piece by the renowned Chinese dancer Shen Wei. The President of the Fédération française de la couture remarked of the show, "We are witness to the birth of a true talent."

Publications

Ma Ke. (2006) Point One. Map Book Publishers. .