Vibrant - Loulin Ma Interview

Cultural Pride or Future Vibe?
Loulin Ma explains how Chinese designers have advanced in recent years, but this doesn’t mean she necessarily wants to advertise her heritage on every design she creates. We spoke with her further to see how she finds that balance while residing in a society where culture is very much alive.


Can a collection encompass the influences of Frida Kahlo, the future year of 3019 and romantic street style all in one? It seems farfetched, but according to Chinese independent designer, Loulin Ma, founder of Maroling Ding, nothing is too fanciful for her designs.

While so many designers are pulling inspirations solely from the past, Ma looks to the future for her main inspiration. Whether it be art, romanticism or technology, Ma is pulling from every root that brings her passion to thrive as a new designer. She started her own brand based in Shanghai in 2018, with her first collection of FW 2019 currently available. Despite launching her brand in her home city, her focus is not centered around the Chinese culture, but instead the own dream world she wishes to create. The spirit and culture behind Maroling Ding is one that could only be conceived by Ma founding her own brand. After she felt she had the right level of experience to succeed, she did just that.

As she deems herself an “art fanatic and technology enthusiast,” Ma derives influence from artists of the past and present, while using her imagination of what is to come technologically. In her FW 2019 collection, she adopts the pattern from Frida Kahlo’s Self-portrait with Thorn Necklace and Hummingbirds, modifying the thorns into stars, for a dreamier feel. After all, this specific collection is set in 3019 where time-travel is a weekend activity! Ma gushes, “I image that on the weekend I put on my spacesuit and imagine myself as artist Frida, enjoying endless freefall in the endless virtual galactic garden…” As if this was not enough to spark creativity, she is often inspired by artists and designers, but also her own wardrobe, constantly contemplating what could be done to make the garment design fully embody the freedom and comfort she wishes to achieve.

The influence of personal heritage can be a starting point for many fashion designers, but Ma has a different artistic vision in mind. “I know the Chinese style is very popular now, but the aesthetic in tradition needs to be evolved. It must be able to truly integrate with modern people’s thoughts and life states perfectly, and so that [it] can present the real aesthetic value,” she explains. Not that Ma ever wants to forget the culture by which she came from, but believes that traditional Chinese garments hold so much meaning that they belong in a museum, not necessarily on the runways. She does not write off unexpected influence from her culture as it often blends with her own preferences. For now, however, as certain Chinese material can be too limiting to her design vision, she does not want to push its use in the name of culture.

When it comes to the future of the brand, Ma reiterates her overall vision that she hopes to connect her designs with the wearer’s free-spirited approach to life. “I also hope to do better in brand culture so that people who buy it not only own the cloth, but also the spirit and culture behind it. It’s the romantic street life – the struggle for life, the love of art, and a positive and free attitude to life.”