Since graduating from Central Saint Martins in 2008, womenswear designer, Masha Ma, has had her graduate collection snapped up by Saville Row’s B Store and grabbed the attention of press world wide, having had her work featured in leading style publications such as Vogue, Harpers Bazaar, Pop and French Playboy.
Here at Vauxhall Fashion Scout, we are all super excited to see Masha’s debut show with us this September and as London Fashion Week draws ever closer, all of our designers are busy making final adjustments to their collections. I managed to drag Masha away from her busy schedule for just a few minutes to find out what she has in store for us this season…
Tell me a bit about your latest collection - What has been your inspiration behind it?
A building I came across in the Meat Packing District in NYC initially inspired me. It had all the walls painted white creating this subtle futuristic look. It turned an old industrial building into something quite modern. The collection was strongly influenced by this industrial chic feeling; strong elements such as silver and steel juxtaposed with the intricate elegance found in the draping and finish.
Did that influence the colour palette at all?
Totally: There is a lot of white, ice blue, silver and metallic… It’s all very pastel but sharp at the same time.
For people who aren’t so familiar with your work, how would you describe your signature style?
The label is all about the cut and finishing of a garment: Tailored with a modern arrogance.
You have once stated you have an ever changing silhouette in mind- is this still something you thought about when designing this collection?
I did… the last collection had this glam, cinematic feeling but this season I have moved it forward into a different kind of look. The length has gone very short in comparison to the calf length skirts I had last season. I love to experiment with proportions.
Where would you like to see your brand in the future?
London is a great place to be; there is such amazing support for young, up and coming designers, so I would love to stay here and am hoping to see the Masha Ma label stocked in a lot of London boutiques.
We have also been invited to Paris this season to present our collection at the Louvre during Paris Fashion Week, so I am excited to see how we do there.
You have had quite a lot of success and press attention in China already, is the Chinese Market somewhere you aim for?
The press in China has been amazing. I think I just happen to be Chinese, and they are being very supportive over there. It is definitely a place that we would love to keep appealing to.
And lastly, this is your debut show at London Fashion Week with Vauxhall Fashion Scout are you excited?
Of course! Very excited!
And so are we! And it’s not long to wait now… Masha will be showing her latest collection on Sunday 19th September at the Vauxhall Fashion Scout venue during London Fashion Week.
Sarah Barlow