Glossary

Ma Ke is one of China's top fashion designers and the founder and creative director of massively popular brand Exception de Mixmind; sold to 60 stores across 30 cities in China. Ma K e was born in Changchun, China in 1971.

Following her intuition of creating simple organic designs using sustainable fabrics and hand made artisan production, Ma Ke has fashioned two (2) unique collections. Launched in 1996, Exception de Mixmind is a line of sophisticated minimalist daywear distributed in more than 50 namesake stores and corners throughout China. Exception de Mixmind has become one of China's longest and most successful designer brands in China.

Ma Ke's latest endeavour Wu Yong (Useless) was invited to launch at Paris Fashion Week in 2007 and has since been accumulating accolades from the design and art communities. Ma Ke was awarded the title of "Best Asian Fashion Designer" at the 2007 Elle Style Awards. 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” by Jia Zhang-Ke, a poetic documentary contrasting the artful creation of Ma Ke's collection with the lives of China's garment factory

Ma Ke is one of the most prolific fashion designers working in China today, she graduated from the Suzhou Institute of Silk Textile Technology in 1992 and four years later set up her own label Exception de Mixmind.

Ma Ke's interest in the crossover between contemporary art and fashion led her to establish the artistic brand Wuyong (Useless) in 2006. Wuyong is an examination of the concept of '"uselessness'" and how this interpretation varies when seen from different points of view. 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.

Taking discarded items such as an old paint covered sheet Ma Ke transforms it into a dress, the cracked paint creating a beautiful pattern on the garment, and an old tarpaulin is constructed into a coat of magnificent volume. For Ma Ke this focus on personal interpretation and transformation is a way of highlighting the importance of the individual and the inestimable value of life.

Among Ma Ke's titles, nominations and awards were:
Best International Chinese Fashion Designer 2006 by Modern Weekly; 2007 Annual Design Award (Nominated); awarded the Best Documentary Prize in the 64th venice Film Festival, a film featuring Ma ke and Wuyong, etc.

Visit Ma Ke's website: http://www.mixmind.com/ to see her past and latest works, inlcuding some photos of her shops around China.

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List of books: Ma,Ke