ma ke : wu yong chinese fashion

the title ‘wu yong‘ translates to ‘useless’. ma ke is known in china for her silent, organic and reflexive clothing that is more creative and experimental in shape. confronted by the local clothing industry with its cheap, homogenising mass-production and poorly paid workers whose skill is not valued, and by a fashion scene lacking local aesthetic influence and dominated by foreign labels, she dedicated herself to developing her ‘useless’ ideas.

designboom was media sponsor of the ICOGRADA beijing world design congress 09, last month, where ma ke was a speaker at the conference.

here are a few images of her collection shown in the ‘design as productive force’ exhibition at the national art museum of china in beijing.

ma ke and a catwalk model

‘wu yong’ at the victoria&albert museum, 2008

‘wu yong’ at the victoria&albert museum, 2008

‘wu yong’ at the victoria&albert museum, 2008

‘wu yong’ inside the ‘design as productive force’ exhibition at the national art museum of china in beijing, 2009 image © designboom

‘wu yong’ inside the ‘design as productive force’ exhibition at the national art museum of china in beijing, 2009 image © designboom

‘wu yong’ inside the ‘design as productive force’ exhibition at the national art museum of china in beijing, 2009 image © designboom

this dramatic collection references china’s rich history and highlights the role of time and natural processes, the qualities of organic materials and the value of handcraft.

voluminous, sculptural garments that make up the ‘wu yong’ coolection. it questions the values propagated through clothing in modern cultures across the world, critiquing the consumerism, superficiality and commercialisation of international fashion and the erasure of unique local historical and cultural memories.

ma ke chinese fashion designer ma ke graduated from the suzhou institute of silk textile technology in 1992. wu yong is ma ke’s third label. for the past 10 years, ma ke, together with her husband and business partner has been a running a successful fashion house that creates and markets the labels ‘mixmind‘ and ‘exception.’

in february 2007, wuyong was presented at paris fashion week for the first time and the innovative concept attracted much attention within both art and fashion circles. in 2008 she was invited to show her work at london’s prestigious victoria&albert museum and at paris haute couture week. she is also the subject of the film ‘useless’, a poetic documentary contrasting the artful creation of ma ke’s collection with the lives of china’s garment factory workers. this film was awarded the best documentary prize in the 64th venice film festival, directed by golden lion winner jia zhang-ke.