Woodrose Deli’s Worldwide Inspirations

Founder Suki Ma is inspired by what she sees people wearing on the streets around the world.

Woodrose Deli by Jia Chen and Era Ranglova

When Suki Ma was in Hawaii a few years ago, she came across a shop called Wood Rose. She found the name romantic but didn’t know how to correlate it to her needs for a brand. So, she put the word ‘deli’ behind it to embody everyday New York City culture, soon creating her brainchild, Woodrose Deli. The clothes are intended to be mixed, matched, and re-worn with different outfits. She notes that the brand represents “a melange of effortless femininity and downtown chic.”

“I put this name together because I lived in New York since 2016,” Ma says. “The brand started here, but I had the idea to create this brand when I was traveling.”

Ma’s idea of femininity isn’t what you think; Her garments are for those who want to look opulent and feel as comfortable and movable as possible. She wants you to be able to dress each piece up with heels or dress down with a pair of sneakers and a high bun. Regardless of gender, size, or race, Ma wants Woodrose Deli to put you in a good mood as soon as you put it on. Before Ma began Woodrose Deli, she designed for streetwear brands in Los Angeles dealing with sneakers, so versatility and gender non-conformity are no strangers to Ma.

“No matter my design, my life and the energy I’m creating around me need to be in the same umbrella,” she says. “Even the name Woodrose Deli means romantically gathering together. It has to be cohesive, but sometimes I think differently. Sometimes, I look in my closet for a color palette, go to the fabric store, and pick out the colors I want. My graphics literally come from my life. I can walk by myself, see something like a cute light in a salon, take a picture of it, then make graphics around it.”

Woodrose Deli by Jia Chen and Era Ranglova

Ma’s abroad journey and rampant creativity began when she was born in China and moved to study in Europe when she was 20. She then came across the pond to move to New York City and travel back and forth to China, where she crafts clothes for Woodrose Deli. Between these ventures, Ma travels to different cities, meets new people, and collaborates in towns like Berlin, Los Angeles, Mexico City, Japan, and more. As of last year, Ma spent all of those years traveling — with more to come — to formalize what she wanted Woodrose Deli to be.

It’s hard for Ma to pinpoint her favorite Woodrose Deli pieces. However, she loves anything involving bright colors, textures, and patterns, but her plant-dyed garments are some of her favorites.

“I really like hard-processed stuff,” Ma says. “I enjoy creating something I feel doesn’t exist yet, but I also appreciate people’s feedback. I plant-dyed some pieces after contacting a dyer who lives in the mountains. We actually became friends. I sent them my base pieces, I’ll tell them how to dye it, and we discuss it. I loved my plant-dyed collection from two years ago.”

Woodrose Deli by Jia Chen and Era Ranglova

While Ma loves vibrant colors, she’s recently toned it down with neutral and earthy colors while still preserving the edge that is the Woodrose Deli brand with asymmetry and texture. The brand’s constant evolution stems not only from traveling abroad to seeing different cities’ cultures, but she also takes note of customers’ feedback, the development of trends, and vintage clothes.

“I just really want to preserve the positive, creative energy around me,” she says. “I already feel I’ve met so many good people and brands this year. I want to meet even more. I want to be more creative but also be kind to the people around me. We are all each other’s neighbors.”

In the future, Ma hopes for Woodrose Deli to have its storefront with a coffee shop, vintage and new clothes, and artists and food vendors throughout. She also wants to expand the brand with accessories incorporating pearls and stones. Until then, she continues working towards making people accessible, sustainable, movable, and timeless garments. Woodrose Deli is available online at woodrosedeli.com and at Assembly New York at 170 Orchard St.