Threaded with Meaning: Bridal Designer Ou Ma on Romance, Heritage & The Future Of Couture

As we celebrate AAPI Heritage Month, there’s no better time to spotlight visionary designer Ou Ma, the Beijing-born, Vancouver-based founder of OUMA. Known for her emotionally resonant bridal and eveningwear creations, Ma blends the precision of couture with the softness of romantic storytelling—infusing each piece with her Chinese heritage, New York fashion pedigree, and a zero-waste mission rooted in purpose. We caught up with Ma to learn more about her design philosophy, sustainable practices, and how she’s redefining modern romance one stitch at a time. —Noa Nichol

Your gowns feel like wearable art, often inspired by the brushstrokes of Chinese  painting. How does your cultural upbringing in Beijing continue to shape your  design aesthetic today? 

Growing up in Beijing, I was constantly surrounded by a rich visual language — from the  fluid lines of calligraphy to the quiet elegance of Chinese ink paintings. There’s a poetic  restraint in traditional Chinese art that has deeply shaped how I approach design. Instead  of over-embellishing, I aim to create silhouettes that breathe and flow like brushstrokes  — full of intention, yet never forced. 

The philosophy of balance and negative space in Chinese aesthetics continues to guide  me today. Whether it’s the way a sleeve falls or how a motif is embroidered, I’m always  thinking about how the garment moves with the body and speaks with softness. It’s this  harmony — between tradition and modernity, structure and ease — that defines the soul  of OUMA. 

You’ve worked at iconic fashion houses like Calvin Klein and Ralph Lauren— what lessons or philosophies from that world have stayed with you as you build  something more personal and sustainable with OUMA? 

Working at Calvin Klein and Ralph Lauren gave me an invaluable foundation in  craftsmanship, storytelling, and discipline. At Calvin, I learned the power of restraint — the idea that minimalism can be bold when executed with precision. At Ralph Lauren, I  saw how a brand could build an entire world around emotion and heritage. Those  experiences taught me to design with purpose and to obsess over the details, because every stitch carries weight. 

Now, with OUMA, I’m building something more intimate — something that reflects not  just a design philosophy, but a set of values. Sustainability isn’t just about materials; it’s  about intention. I think deeply about why each piece exists, how it’s made, and what it  will mean to the person who wears it. In a way, the discipline I learned working at those iconic houses now serves a more personal mission — to create heirlooms with heart. 

The zero-waste mission behind OUMA is not only thoughtful but also deeply  creative. What’s been the most surprising or joyful outcome of working with  fabric scraps and bridal remnants? 

One of the most joyful outcomes of working with bridal remnants has been discovering how naturally the accessories evolve from the gowns themselves. Sometimes it’s a  challenge to find pieces that truly complement the spirit and textures of my designs — and that’s when the zero-waste mission becomes deeply creative. Making the bags and  earrings from leftover fabric has allowed me to extend the story of each dress in a new,  intimate way.

What started as a sustainability effort has become a design language of its own. Each  accessory carries the DNA of our gowns — a ruffle from the Serena dress becomes a  Loofah bag, or lace remnants transform into delicate earrings. It feels incredibly rewarding to give new life to what would otherwise be discarded, while offering our  brides something that feels both intentional and beautifully cohesive. 

• Romanticism is at the heart of your label, but you interpret it in such a modern,  fresh way. How do you balance tradition with innovation when designing for  today’s brides? 

When designing for today’s brides, I always start with emotion — softness, strength,  intimacy — and then interpret those feelings through a modern lens. That might mean  using traditional techniques like hand draping or embroidery, but applying them in a minimal silhouette, or working with classic materials in unexpected ways. Balancing tradition with innovation is about honoring where we come from while designing for where we’re going. I want every OUMA gown to feel timeless, but also alive in the present — for brides who value heritage, but also want to express their individuality and point of view. It’s this in-between space that I find most inspiring. 

If you could design a gown inspired by a single memory from your childhood or  your journey as a designer, what would that look like—and what story would it  tell? 

If I could design a gown inspired by a single memory, it would be from when I was a  child in Beijing. I used to collect scraps of embroidered and beaded pillowcases from  Chinese minority textiles — intricate, colorful, full of hidden stories. I would turn them  into dresses for my Barbie dolls, instinctively stitching together cultures and textures  before I even knew what design really meant. (Photo linked here of barbie she designed a dress for  )

Today, I dream of bringing those early creations to life — translating those childhood  scraps into full-scale gowns. I imagine rich hand-embroidery, heirloom beadwork, and  unexpected fabric pairings that honor the artisanal spirit of Chinese folk traditions but are  reimagined in a modern silhouette. It would be a tribute to imagination, to heritage, and  to the quiet magic that happens when a young girl dreams with her hands.