A conversation with Ou Ma, the Owner and Creative Director of OUMA Bridal.
A conversation with Ou Ma, the Owner and Creative Director of OUMA Bridal.
A conversation with Ou, the Owner and Creative Director of OUMA Bridal. OUMA Bridal celebrates a new couture of romance with a strength in artistry and contemporary expression through a spirited poetry of bridal design. OUMA is run with incredible intention as every piece is hand-crafted in their Vancouver atelier, all of their fabrics are carefully sourced, and they practice a zero-waste approach by turning fabric scraps into accessories, scrunchies, and ribbons.
A STORY TO SHARE,
Who are you? We would love to know more about who you are outside of work.
I’m Ou, pronounced as the letter ‘O’. I’m originally from Beijing, China and pursued my fashion design dream in New York City. I grew up as such an introvert, and dressing up my Barbie was the most enjoyable thing in my childhood. I received a Sociology degree before I went to FIT for fashion design. Working for Calvin Klein Made-to-Measure Atelier and Ralph Lauren Women’s Collection were the most amazing experiences for me before I started my own brand.
In 2016, I got married and relocated to Vancouver. It was the perfect timing for me to have a change in lifestyle and finally start something on my own: the OUMA brand was born. Over the past six years, we have grown from a one-woman show to a team of 7. We have also already expanded our collection to over 15 stores internationally.
What does a garment mean to you?
It is a way to express who you are. You are what you wear.
What sparked your personal interest in sustainability?
I am not going to lie, fashion is a high waste industry. I love creating beautiful clothes, but I would be so sad to see them go to the landfill after only being worn a few times. I am a secondhand shopper myself, and I’ve always been mindful to use my designs to find smart ways to save the world- such as fitting as many patterns as possible into one piece of fabric during cutting, and engineering what to do with the fabric scraps. We have made fabric flowers, scrunchies, and handbags using our scraps. Our audience loves them! We recently have also donated our hand cut fabric scraps to Bloomiér for fabric bouquet ribbons.
What opened your eyes to the waste issues in your industry?
I have worked in the fashion industry for over 13 years now, and I know that most businesses develop 3-4 times more samples than what the market needs. As someone working in the garment development process, it’s sad to see our work becoming waste. That really got me thinking about the meaning behind it and why we are doing what we do.
What are the (sustainability) problems in fashion?
There are fast fashion companies that produce way more clothing than the market needs. There are also customers who shop without purpose and end up purchasing way more clothing than they need. Lots of garments are made out of synthetic fabrics which aren’t biodegradable and will take thousands of years to decompose in the oceans.
What are the solutions that exist, and what solutions are you still looking for?
There are companies that use sustainable fabrics and recycled materials. There are also companies that offer upcycle programs for customers to donate old clothes to. There are also lots of initiatives in the industry to stop fashion fashion, etc. I still think there is a lack of education for people to know what goes into garment making. I do workshops at OUMA bridal to teach my audience what they can do with fabric scraps. I hope people can be handy and creative with their non-used clothes too so that they can turn them into something, rather than trash them.
How do you find hope to persevere toward net-zero goals in your workplace?
We keep practicing the zero-waste approach at OUMA, and it’s a company rule that all employees have to follow. My employees are very creative too. They use the fabric scraps to make dolls, animal clothes, ornaments, etc. We make sure we advertise the sustainability part of our business along with our designs. We want people to know we are creating beautiful bridal gowns with a bigger mission statement.
We recognize that the work you are a part of is all around us and impacts our day to day lives. What message can you give to us as consumers in your industry?
Bridal is a bit different than the fashion industry, as we normally create dresses based on each order, to minimize waste and over production. However, we still want our customers to know the difference between natural fibers and synthetic fibers. And if they know more about where the dresses are being made, that would be even better! We are a small team, and we take pride in everything we do. Growing my business bigger and better doesn’t mean we are going to mass produce and cut the cost down by degrading the materials we are using. We will continue to practice what we believe in regard to sustainability and save the planet as much as we can.
A conversation with Ou, the Owner and Creative Director of OUMA Bridal. OUMA Bridal celebrates a new couture of romance with a strength in artistry and contemporary expression through a spirited poetry of bridal design. OUMA is run with incredible intention as every piece is hand-crafted in their Vancouver atelier, all of their fabrics are carefully sourced, and they practice a zero-waste approach by turning fabric scraps into accessories, scrunchies, and ribbons.
A STORY TO SHARE,
Who are you? We would love to know more about who you are outside of work.
I’m Ou, pronounced as the letter ‘O’. I’m originally from Beijing, China and pursued my fashion design dream in New York City. I grew up as such an introvert, and dressing up my Barbie was the most enjoyable thing in my childhood. I received a Sociology degree before I went to FIT for fashion design. Working for Calvin Klein Made-to-Measure Atelier and Ralph Lauren Women’s Collection were the most amazing experiences for me before I started my own brand.
In 2016, I got married and relocated to Vancouver. It was the perfect timing for me to have a change in lifestyle and finally start something on my own: the OUMA brand was born. Over the past six years, we have grown from a one-woman show to a team of 7. We have also already expanded our collection to over 15 stores internationally.
What does a garment mean to you?
It is a way to express who you are. You are what you wear.
What sparked your personal interest in sustainability?
I am not going to lie, fashion is a high waste industry. I love creating beautiful clothes, but I would be so sad to see them go to the landfill after only being worn a few times. I am a secondhand shopper myself, and I’ve always been mindful to use my designs to find smart ways to save the world- such as fitting as many patterns as possible into one piece of fabric during cutting, and engineering what to do with the fabric scraps. We have made fabric flowers, scrunchies, and handbags using our scraps. Our audience loves them! We recently have also donated our hand cut fabric scraps to Bloomiér for fabric bouquet ribbons.
What opened your eyes to the waste issues in your industry?
I have worked in the fashion industry for over 13 years now, and I know that most businesses develop 3-4 times more samples than what the market needs. As someone working in the garment development process, it’s sad to see our work becoming waste. That really got me thinking about the meaning behind it and why we are doing what we do.
What are the (sustainability) problems in fashion?
There are fast fashion companies that produce way more clothing than the market needs. There are also customers who shop without purpose and end up purchasing way more clothing than they need. Lots of garments are made out of synthetic fabrics which aren’t biodegradable and will take thousands of years to decompose in the oceans.
What are the solutions that exist, and what solutions are you still looking for?
There are companies that use sustainable fabrics and recycled materials. There are also companies that offer upcycle programs for customers to donate old clothes to. There are also lots of initiatives in the industry to stop fashion fashion, etc. I still think there is a lack of education for people to know what goes into garment making. I do workshops at OUMA bridal to teach my audience what they can do with fabric scraps. I hope people can be handy and creative with their non-used clothes too so that they can turn them into something, rather than trash them.
How do you find hope to persevere toward net-zero goals in your workplace?
We keep practicing the zero-waste approach at OUMA, and it’s a company rule that all employees have to follow. My employees are very creative too. They use the fabric scraps to make dolls, animal clothes, ornaments, etc. We make sure we advertise the sustainability part of our business along with our designs. We want people to know we are creating beautiful bridal gowns with a bigger mission statement.
We recognize that the work you are a part of is all around us and impacts our day to day lives. What message can you give to us as consumers in your industry?
Bridal is a bit different than the fashion industry, as we normally create dresses based on each order, to minimize waste and over production. However, we still want our customers to know the difference between natural fibers and synthetic fibers. And if they know more about where the dresses are being made, that would be even better! We are a small team, and we take pride in everything we do. Growing my business bigger and better doesn’t mean we are going to mass produce and cut the cost down by degrading the materials we are using. We will continue to practice what we believe in regard to sustainability and save the planet as much as we can.
Thank you, Ou, for sharing your story with us.
More work from Ou and OUMA Bridal can be found here: www.ouma.co
