Th E W O R Ld O F a N N a S

THE WORLD OF ANNA SUI

The World of Anna Sui is a Fashion and Textile Museum exhibition

Image ©Joshua Jordon

FAIRY TALE

‘I’m a storyteller. Which is why I love fairytales….The fantasy – the dressing-up part of fashion – has never lost its magic for me.’

Magic is never far away in Anna Sui’s work. The fantasies that she spins out through her designs reﬂect both the princess in the tower as well as the wicked witch. The importance of storytelling is clear in Sui’s collections, and the fairy tale world that she conjures up is one of Icelandic princesses, pirates, fairies, Vikings and enchanted animals. For Sui, the light is always counterbalanced by the dark, a twist that she loves to inject. Her magical shows have featured some of the most whimsical, surreal accessories, from animal hats to gingerbread handbags and a hobby horse. Snow Queen Ensemble (Top row) Autumn 1998 Polyester fake fur/alpine appliqué Coat and silk/nylon Dress Polyester fake fur hat and wool braid cap by James Coviello for Anna Sui; brass/glass necklace by Erickson Beamon for Anna Sui; cowhide/glass shoes by Ballin for Anna Sui

Fairy-tale illustrations, especially those by Walter Crane (1845– 1915[L2] ), formed the inspiration for Sui’s Autumn 1998 collection, particularly in terms of her colour palette. Crane, a highly inspirational illustrator of children’s books, was inﬂuenced by the Pre-Raphaelite brotherhood. The resulting garments showcased rich colour tones and long lean shapes as well as fairy princess dresses for evening. Several of the dresses in the collection were trimmed with faux fur, recalling the fairy tale The Snow Queen by Hans Christian Anderson. This connection was accentuated by the frosty shimmering of the panne velvet used by Sui. The fake fur appliqué coat is also trimmed with edelweiss braid and rickrack adding a folkloric tone. Sui’s favourite children’s book is The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S Lewis, which features a character similar to the Snow Queen, known as the White Witch, famous for her ability to turn people’s hearts to stone. To underline the fairy-tale sensibility of the collection as a whole, Sui ended her catwalk show with a knight in shining armour. The fact that his armour was made of velvet and his steed of polystyrene seemed to emphasise the childlike innocence and the playfulness of the collection. Fairy Princess (Middle row left) Spring 2014 Nylon/polyester lace Dress Brass/glass crown, necklace; rayon/cowhide shoes

Anna Sui named this collection ‘The Mists of Avalon’, taking her inspiration from English Pre-Raphaelite paintings characterised by their ‘luminous iridescent canvases’ that strongly influenced her colour palette. But being Anna, other references were added to the mix such as the 1960s, a recurrent theme in her designs. There had been a big Pre-Raphaelite revival in that decade resulting in romantic clothing and psychedelic posters as well as exotic interiors popular with the rock personalities of the day. Added to this cocktail was a reference to the shapes of clothing worn by Masai men that Sui had observed on a trip to Tanzania. This fairy princess dress made from tulle, decorated with golden lace flowers and accessorised with a crown and a giant butterfly necklace, encapsulates Sui’s vision for the collection with its cast of romantic Pre-Raphaelite heroines floating down the catwalk, recalling Arthurian characters such as Queen Guinevere and The Lady of Shalott. Anna describes her vision: ‘Everything is flecked with antique gold, or shot with peacock shades of metallic thread … an entire enchanted forest filled with sparrows and songbirds, blooming with poppies, water lilies, sunflowers.’

Fake Seal Shearling Swiss Miss (Middle row centre) Autumn 1998 Polyester fake fur Jacket with wool Sweater and mohair Skirt Cowhide/goatskin boots; wood/wool/plastic lunchbox

This outfit is from Sui’s Autumn 1998 collection, inspired by children’s costumes including storybook animals such as lions, bears and rabbits. Faux fur jackets styled after Inuit parkas, often worn with the fur side inward, were then trimmed with edelweiss trimmings using folkloric motifs. Other outfits in the collection were accessorised by headdresses in the form of large stuffed animal heads designed by James Coviello. Fairy-tale handbags, including a Hansel and Gretel gingerbread house, reflected the idea of a magical enchanted forest, a theme Sui also invoked in sweaters and cardigans knitted with fairies, turtles and dragons, and floral embroideries on skirts and waistcoats. Sui considers her Autumn 1998 collection to be one of her personal favourites.

‘She is in the truest sense of the term, a raconteur. But instead of using words or letters, Sui uses stitches and seams to express her nimbly crafted fables’ (Andrew Bolton, Anna Sui, 2010) Nordic Viking Ensemble (Middle row right) Autumn 2015 Polyester/sequins Dress and polyester fake fur Cape Wool hat by James Coviello for Anna Sui; cowhide boots by Ballin for Anna Sui; cowhide/shell necklaces by Erickson Beamon for Anna Sui

‘After falling in love with Vikings, the History Channel’s swords-sex-and- shearling spectacular, she made a typically lateral leap into the mid- century Scandi-design that reshaped the world in its image.’ (Tim Blanks, Vogue, 18 February 2015)

Sui described this collection herself as: ‘a full on Norse Mythology fairytale’. Inspiration for her designs came from the Arts and Crafts movement in Nordic countries, in particular the watercolours and home of Carl Larsen as well as the needlework and tapestries of the Norwegian, Frida Hansen. Sui then decided ‘to make it all a bit cheerier’ (her own words), by referencing mid-century Scandinavian decorative arts, ceramics, furniture and printed textiles while simultaneously looking backwards to add a more primitive pagan element emphasised by the use of shearling and fur. The collection, which included prints of folkloric tapestries, needlework and crochet that were then over-embroidered for added dimensionality, reﬂected the amount of work and detail that Sui invests in her designs. Model Jamie Bochert closed the catwalk show: a Valkyrie in knitted Viking helmet and a shimmering sequin dress, as seen here. Rococo Pirate Ensemble (Bottom row left) Spring 2007 Knit cotton Top and habotai silk Skirt Cotton/rayon jersey sleeves, socks; straw hat by James Coviello for Anna Sui; silk scarf; cowhide shoes by Ballin for Anna Sui; brass/glass necklaces by Erickson Beamon for Anna Sui

Sofia Coppola’s somewhat anachronistic and impressionistic film Marie Antoinette (2006), which mixed 1780s’-inspired costumes with a soundtrack that included classical music as well as 1980s’ post-punk and New Romantic music, provided the catalyst for Sui’s Spring 2007 collection. Sui took Coppola’s vision one step further and merged the auditory and sartorial elements of the film creating garments that combined the influences of 1980s’ British music with eighteenth-century costume. For inspiration for this hybrid look, Sui looked to Vivienne Westwood, and in particular to her 1981 ‘Pirate’ collection, focusing on the defining details, namely the layering, the billowing silhouette and the eclectic mixing of colours and textiles. This outfit combines red, blue and green Provençal prints, based on Indian woodblock prints, with a blue and white jersey tube top, armbands and socks. Dorothy Draper Pirate (Bottom row centre) Spring 2007 Silk crepe de Chine and lace Dress Straw/nylon/ostrich feather hat by James Coviello for Anna Sui; nylon sleeves; Brass/plastic necklace by Erickson Beamon for Anna Sui; nylon hose; cowhide boots by Ballin for Anna Sui

This dress is inspired by the ‘robe a la française’, the eighteenth- century Rococo gown favoured by Marie Antoinette. Sui, however, radically altered the proportions, giving them a punk makeover by cutting them off mid-thigh. She created a series of these dresses in silk chiffon and crepe de Chine printed with hearts, roses, stripes and polka dots. They were worn with petticoats and produced in a combination of red, white and black, a colour mix that evoked memories of the band, The New York Dolls: ‘I’d just seen Bob Gruen’s documentary on the New York Dolls called “All Dolled Up”, and it reminded me that back in the 1970s, if you were part of the rock scene or if you went to clubs like Max’s or CBGB’s, you only wore red, white or black. Everything was heavily codiﬁed.’ Versailles, too, was governed by rigid codes and it was this codiﬁed aesthetic that provided the link for Sui’s collection. Marching Band Ensemble (Bottom row right) Spring 2010 Silk jacquard Dress and embroidered cotton denim Cape Polycotton passementerie hat by James Coviello for Anna Sui; cowhide shoes by Ballin for Anna Sui; plastic bracelet by Erickson Beamon for Anna Sui

The inspiration for Anna Sui’s Spring 2010 collection was the 1967 version of Doctor Dolittle, starring Rex Harrison, and in particular the film’s circus scenes. It was the 1960s’ Victorian vibe of the film that particularly appealed to Sui, who staged the catwalk show in a huge pink and black circus tent starting the spectacle with her circus ringleader sporting a majorette cape and floral dress. The collection was a riot of pattern and texture including plaids, florals, Liberty prints (re-coloured especially for her), metallics and patchwork, all accompanied by playful accessories such as peep-toe stacked booties. The collection featured more tomboyish looks than usual, thanks to the sartorial influence of Rex Harrison and his waistcoats. This majorette- inspired ensemble showcases an abstract-style peacock print paired with a denim cape, trimmed with passementerie, and topped off with a matching hat designed by James Coviello. This collection came shortly after Sui had been presented with the CFDA Lifetime Achievement Award.

THE WORLD OF ANNA SUI

The World of Anna Sui is a Fashion and Textile Museum exhibition