Originally from Shanghai and graduated in 2008 from St. Martin London Fashion School, Masha Ma quickly became a superstar of the fashion world. The most famous boutiques have adopted her elegant, personality-rich collections, and she has been featured in numerous fashion spreads.
Enlarge
If the label “Made in China” doesn’t suggest high-end design, then Masha Ma's work is not yet done. “I want to change the conversation from ‘Made in China’ to ‘Designed in China,’” she says. “It’s time for an international brand from China to succeed".
Ma has designed for celebrities such as Lady Gaga and Naomi Campbell. In 2016, she will open a dozen Ma By Ma Studio stores in China, aiming to compete on her home turf with global luxury labels.
Ma’s debut collection walked at Paris Fashion Week in 2012. In 2013, Ma moved back and opened a studio in Shanghai, where her success is an inspiration to other young Chinese designers. “Masha has transformed the Chinese element into an international language".
Masha Ma Working Portrait
During her studies at St. Martin London Fashion School, she worked as an intern for Alexander McQueen – her first fashion idol – as well as Veronique Branquinho.
When she decided to return to Shanghai in 2013, she changed her strategy.
She set up a design studio with more than fifty staff members and launched a retail line geared toward a younger audience, MA by MA, featuring sporty feminine styles aimed at the burgeoning ranks of style-minded urbanites.
She plans to open 100 boutiques around China over the few next years.
Masha Ma's AW16 collection is a modern take of an aesthetic point of view where Western and Eastern motives are melted together.
China has its new fashion superstar; and she's ready to build a bridge and go global.