Born and raised in Houston, Texas to Vietnamese immigrant parents, Bach Mai developed a love for fashion and particularly haute couture at a young age.  He began to study fashion and haute couture while in high school and his first training was as an apprentice with the Houston Ballet. As he continued to explore his passion for dressmaking, Bach made  dresses for his cousin and fellow students for their special events. They became his first muses. He went on to study fashion design at Parsons School of Design whereupon graduation he was nominated for Womenswear Designer of the Year.

Following design stints at Calvin Klein and Oscar de la Renta, he moved to Paris and received a Master’s Degree in fashion design from the Institut Français de la Mode. Mai then designed for Prabal Gurung before joining the team at Maison Margiela under John Galliano during the development of the debut Spring/Summer 2015 Artisanal Haute Couture collection.  He was taken under the wing of Mr.  Galliano and soon became First Design Assistant to the Creative Director with a focus on the Artisanal Haute Couture collections. It was at Maison Margiela, both under the tutelage of his mentor as well as working with the couture ateliers, where he was able to further hone his craft and learn first-hand the true art of haute couture.

Mai returned to New York in 2019 with the goal of creating his own eponymous brand, launching it in a partnership with Hurel. Established in 1873 and possessing a storied history of collaborators, Hurel is one of the oldest and most prestigious fabric houses in France.  Bach Mai is a luxury ready-to-wear and made-to-order collection that has couture aspirations, and the brand espouses a belief in irreverent glamour and unabashed femininity. The designer  believes that the heart of the couture spirit lies in the relationship between designer and client, and what drives his design is the passion to make every person who allows him the honor of dressing them feel beautiful.