OUMA
Intrinsically artistic and vividly expressive, designer Ou Ma is the Beijing-born, couture-trained, passionate force in creative expression and exquisite tailoring at OUMA. As a newly minted FIT graduate, Ma cut her teeth with the prestigious design team at Calvin Klein and later worked on the design team at Ralph Lauren. Consistently celebrated and creatively influential, Ma is quickly changing the couture bridal space through her work in defining new romance through her adaption of the cliché into the avant-garde. Ma’s aesthetic is a myriad of perspectives cultivated by her cultural influence, ignited by her years spent designing in the metropolitan city of New York, and influenced by an empathetic desire to help brides find their own inner confidence, ultimately expressing and emoting their unique reason for being — making visible that which is not yet seen.
$2,000 – $5,500
Price Range:
0 – 22
Size Range:
20 – 24 weeks
Dress Production Timeline:
Available with varying rush fees
Rush Options:
Available in These
Locations:
Lovely Favorites
When + how did you get your start as a designer?
I first started making wedding dresses when I was working as a design assistant at Ralph Lauren Women’s Collection in New York. My colleague asked me to make her a custom wedding gown, which intrigued me into making one-of-a-kind dresses. I got married and relocated to Vancouver in 2017 and started doing my own brand. I was mainly focused on custom bridal gowns until 2021, when I started to make my own collection and wholesale them to stores internationally.
Where do you find design inspiration?
When I went to school at FIT in New York, I was specialized in knitwear and I was obsessed with textures. Finding interesting texture and details in nature is still the main source for my designs. I’ve also grown up watching my grandfather doing traditional Chinese paintings. I enjoy using laces and organic folds to mimic paint brush strokes in my designs.
describe the ouma bride.
“I can't really imagine myself doing anything else other than designing.
It is in me – and I can't live without creating clothes.”
The OUMA Bride is effortlessly chic! Who knows who they are and what they want. The OUMA Bride values quality and appreciates design details, and wants something timeless with a modern and edgy twist.
What do you love most about the design process?
Sometimes it can be very frustrating, but I enjoy the back-and-forth process in design. Taking out straps and adding them back on, opening the back and then closing it up – those tedious processes always take us to the best final products.
– ou ma
Be open-minded. When you are in the bridal store, forget about Pinterest and Instagram – try on as many styles and materials as you can (focus on variety, not quantity). Sometimes you will end up wearing something you’ve never imagined.
About ouma
Intrinsically artistic and vividly expressive, designer Ou Ma is the Beijing-born, Fashion Institute of Technology educated, couture-trained, passionate force in creative expression and exquisite tailoring at OUMA. As a newly minted FIT graduate, Ma cut her teeth with the prestigious design team at Calvin Klein and later worked on the design team at Ralph Lauren. Consistently celebrated and creatively influential, Ma is quickly changing the couture bridal space through her work in defining new romance through her adaption of the cliché into the avant-garde. Ma’s aesthetic is a myriad of perspectives cultivated by her cultural influence, ignited by her years spent designing in the metropolitan city of New York, and influenced by an empathetic desire to help women find their own inner confidence, ultimately expressing and emoting their unique reason for being — making visible that which is not yet seen.