THE WORLD OF ANNA SUI The World of Anna Sui is a Fashion and Textile Museum exhibition Image ©Joshua Jordon MOD ‘My first runway show also took a walk down Carnaby Street, with some Chanel and hip-hop mashed in for added flavour. Hybrid life forms – always the tastiest.’ The 1960s’ Mod is one of Anna Sui’s reference points from Britain’s youth subculture. The young women of Swinging London were an early inspiration for Sui, and the insouciant, revolutionary attitude of models such as Twiggy appears time and again in her designs. Sui’s first catwalk show was a typical fusion of Mods with high fashion and street style. The youthful, rebellious Mod is a perennial in the Sui lexicon of style and features in one guise or another in many of her collections. Mod Naomi Ensemble (Top row left) Autumn 1992 Mohair Jacket and Skirt with wool jersey Shirt and vinyl snakeskin Waistcoat and Umbrella Nylon hose; Pig suede gloves; embossed cowhide boots by John Fluevog for Anna Sui; glass brooch and fob by Erickson Beamon for Anna Sui The Autumn 1992 collection took as one of its muses the 1960s’ model Jean Shrimpton, who typified ‘Swinging London’s’ bourgeois style. Sui referenced her in a number of ladylike outfits accessorised with gloves and even umbrellas. The collection featured bold colours and the mix of textiles included mohair, snakeskin and touches of vinyl. This outfit with its collarless jacket edged with vinyl references the sartorial style of The Beatles. The umbrella, like the waistcoat and boots, is made of vinyl snakeskin. Mohair Car Coat Ensemble (Top row right) Autumn 1992 Mohair Coat and vinyl snakeskin Waistcoat with polyester suede Shirt and suede cowhide Trousers Mohair hat by James Coviello for Anna Sui; glass/ceramic necklace by Erickson Beamon for Anna Sui; cowhide/pewter belt, pig suede gloves; suede cowhide boots by John Fluevog for Anna Sui One of the muses for the Autumn collection was the model Jean Shrimpton who epitomised a ladylike and almost bourgeois image of 1960s’ fashion. Sui translated this look into suits, dresses and coats in mohair and Donegal tweed in bright colours as well as plaids that also referenced Balenciaga, who provided a constant source of inspiration for Sui. This ensemble juxtaposes diverse textures from mohair to cowhide to vinyl in a strong colour combination of red and purple, Sui’s signature colours. Portrait Dress (Middle row left) Spring 1996 Lycra and sequins Sui's Spring 1996 collection was inspired by preppies, a subcultural style that accepts rather than rejects the mainstream. For Sui, preppy style "captures the essence of America's collective identity." Typically Sui's interpretation of preppy style was tongue-in cheek, as was shown very clearly in the finale pieces worn by Naomi Campbell (seen here) and Linda Evangelista. Both supermodels wore lycra shift dresses completely covered in sequins and silk-screen printed with blown-up self-portraits taken by Steven Meisel - these same images had appeared on the invitation for the fashion show. The resulting dresses seemed to assert the self-referentiality not only of preppy style but of subcultural style in general. As author Lisa Birnbach asserts in her bestseller, 'The Official Preppy Handbook'(1980): "In a true democracy everyone can be upper class and live in Connecticut. It's only fair." ‘There’s always a bit of mod on my mood board.’ Mod Parka Coat Ensemble (Middle row centre) Autumn 2011 Nylon jacquard Coat and nylon tulle Dress Plastic/ceramic necklace by Erickson Beamon for Anna Sui; nylon hose by Atsugi for Anna Sui; suede cowhide shoes by Hush Puppies for Anna Sui This outfit, like the rest of the Autumn 2011 collection, reflects a diversity of influences that span different decades, showing the breadth of Anna’s research interests and the depth of her designs. This sets her apart from other New York designers so that she ‘thrives in her own bubble’ (Tim Blanks, Vogue, 16 February 2011). The collection was inspired by a visit to the Ballets Russes exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum and Sui was the first designer to see the rich potential, demonstrating her position as ‘a cultural weathervane’, as Tim Blanks calls her. In this outfit Anna mixes a mod-inspired camouflage parka with a 1920s’ style LBD referencing Chanel, who had also designed for the Ballets Russes. The decorative embellishment of the dress together with its silhouette seem to evoke a 1920s’ aesthetic. Marilyn Neuhart Embroidered Dress (Middle row right) Spring 2009 Embroidered silk/linen Dress Straw-covered cowhide sandals by Ballin for Anna Sui; rayon/ brass-covered wood bracelets by Erickson Beamon for Anna Sui; linen/cotton tote Optimism coloured Sui’s Spring 2009 collection in an intentional bid to balance the pervading gloom and surrounding talk of an impending recession. For inspiration she looked to the textile designs of Alexander Girard (Sandro) who, from the 1950s to the 1970s, designed furnishing textiles that transformed the American domestic landscape. Sui’s collection emphasised colour, pattern and texture, focusing on Mexican textiles as if through the eyes of Girard. In her typical way, Sui then added an extra element: the work of Marilyn Neuhart, who worked on graphics on several Girard projects and who also designed colourful dolls for his shop, which Sui herself collects. These dolls were made of Mexican cotton, combining modernis forms and traditionalist finishes. Sui says: ‘I loved their yarn hair and their hand embroideries’. This ensemble encapsulates this artisanal sensibility in its embroidery, while the colouring and the straw-covered sandals evoke holidays in sunny climes. Carnaby Street Suit Ensemble (Bottom row left) Autumn 1991 Wool Jacket and Shorts Gloves and spats; Wool houndstooth cap by James Coviello for Anna Sui; Brass/glass/ceramic necklace by Erickson Beamon for Anna Sui; nylon hose, patent leather boots The Autumn 1991 collection was infused with nostalgia, looking back to Anna’s childhood and her early fascination with Seventeen, her first magazine subscription. Sui was particularly excited by the back-to- school themed issues of the 1960s, which inspired her youthful, exuberant take on Mod fashion and Carnaby Street. Windowpane check suits featuring short flirty schoolgirl skirts, houndstooth micro shorts and vinyl coats were styled with bright-coloured stockings, matching gloves, bags and rap-style oversized jewellery: chains, Maltese crosses and fob watches. Andrew Bolton describes the look as: ‘Chanel meets Run-DMC by way of Christian Lacroix.’ Once again, Sui with her tongue-in-cheek styling creates a new and exciting look that while looking back in time also appears fresh and modern: ‘Where mod failed Anna Sui’s standards of cool, Anna Sui the revisionist stepped confidently in, and gave the mods the benefit of the most creative, imaginative designer mind of her generation.’ (Amy Spindler, New York Times, 7 April 1995) Biker Jacket Ensemble (Bottom row centre) Autumn 1991 Wool Jacket and Skirt Gloves and spats; Brass/rayon fob and brass/glass/ceramic/vinyl necklace by Erickson Beamon for Anna Sui; nylon hose; wool windowpane bonnet by James Coviello for Anna Sui; patent leather boots and spats by Janet Haspar This suit combines demure chic with a biker vibe reflected in the styling of the zipped jacket. The white tights and windowpane bonnet give the outfit a youthful, playful note. As Andrew Bolton comments, the Autumn 1991 Collection ‘seemed poised on the brink of puberty’, reflecting a schoolgirl’s fantasy. The oversized glitzy jewellery, including rings, brooches and pendants in the shape of lions and Maltese crosses, was bought from a wholesale shop and then decorated with glued on gems and beads by Erikson Beamon. This almost DIY approach was very familiar to Anna Sui in her days at the Mudd Club in the 1980s where she, along with the likes of designers Betsey Johnson and Stephen Sprouse, ‘helped shape a style that combined both dressy and the homemade’. (Tim Lawrence, ‘Life and Death on the New York Dancefloor 1980–83’). This DIY ethos came to prevail in the underground scene and soon became more widely fashionable. Crinkle Satin Mod Dress (Bottom row right) Spring 2006 Plissé silk with lace trim Dress Nylon hose by Atsugi for Anna Sui; cowhide boots by Ballin for Anna Sui Throughout her career, Anna Sui has demonstrated her love of print: ‘I can’t help but use some prints – they’re intrinsic to my identity as a designer’. Indeed Sui considers floral prints to be ‘one of the defining elements of my fashions’. However, unlike its predecessor, the Autumn 2006 collection did not include many prints, demonstrating the designer’s tendency to often contradict previous collections as a matter of course. This collection was influenced by the rigorously controlled appearance of the Regency dandy, ‘Beau’ Brummel (1778–1840), and in particular his sober colour palette, while at the same time referencing Yves Saint Laurent’s 1960s’ black dresses with white collars ň and cuffs, as worn by Catherine Deneuve in the Luis Bu uel film, Belle du Jour (1967). There was also a touch of 1920s’ monochrome Chanel chic. This dress reflects all these influences while maintaining a superficial simplicity. Its intrinsic demure chic and femininity is then contradicted by the belt and cowhide boots. THE WORLD OF ANNA SUI The World of Anna Sui is a Fashion and Textile Museum exhibition Image ©Joshua Jordon.