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ABOVE ROW:
Carmen Marc Valvo (photographed by Richard Spiegel). OTHER
PHOTOGRAPHS: Anna Sui.
Anna Sui showed bathing suits
worn under short party dresses and sexy baby-doll dresses worn over
scuba-gear—all done with a creative flair not too many other designers
could have pulled off without falling flat on their faces
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Anna Sui
SINCE SHE STARTED her design house
in 1980, Anna Sui has been reaping praise from both the fashion
critics and her ever-burgeoning customer base. The New York Times,
commenting on Ms Sui’s fall 2000 collection, said, ‘Ms. Sui seemed
to transform herself from a club habitué who always knew
what was happening below 14th Street to a mature designer whose
inspirations might be a Ken Russell film or a rococo palace … The
upshot was a sophisticated look that relied not on obvious symbols
of glamour, like pearls and trailing boas, but on simple modern
ideals as lightness and comfort’ (sic). In reviewing her
spring ’99 collection, WWD praised her for her ‘practiced
hand at mixing antiquated romance and modern love … Her meld of
“rococo and gypsy” was so fresh it evoked a “girl who's just fallen
in the river and gotten back out,” just as Sui intended.’
Her spring 2004 collection was based on west-coast
fun-in-the-sun sports—swimming, surfing and scuba diving—with its
inspiration coming from surfing documentaries such as Endless
Summer (1966) and Step into Liquid (2003) and vintage
beach party movies like How to Stuff a Wild Bikini (1965),
Beach Blanket Bingo (1965) and Gidget (1959). This
manifested itself into the recurring idea of layering pieces to
create a colourful mosaic.
She showed bathing suits worn under short party
dresses and sexy baby-doll dresses worn over scuba-gear—all done
with a creative flair not too many other designers could have pulled
off without falling flat on their faces. Other fanciful pairing
included her mint green trench coat over a bikini bra top with white
scalloped edging and an abbreviated window-pane tennis kilted skirt.
Other fine examples of design synergy would also have to include
a pink shrunken cardigan sweater over a bra top paired with a silk–tulle
overlay skirt, a pair of surfer board shorts with a lace-accent
bra top and a short sleeve scuba top paired with an abbreviated
flower print shorts with front tie. For that added extra oomph,
she accessorized the collection with white shell bangles, necklaces
and sea-themed sandals and heels.
With successful, free-standing boutiques in New
York City (113 Greene Street, SoHo), Los Angeles (Sunset Plaza,
West Hollywood), Tokyo and Osaka, Japan, Ms Sui has become an internationally
known brand. In 1997, she launched a shoe collection comprising
of both day and evening styles, in velvet, silk, patent leather,
snake and lizard skin, shearling and suede. In 1999, Ms Sui launched
her highly successful signature fragrance and cosmetic line in a
three-sided licensing agreement with Wella AG
of Germany (to manufacture the fragrance line) and Albion of Japan
(to manufacture the cosmetics’ colour collection including foundation
to lip, eye and nail products). The Anna Sui fragrance collection
includes Sui Dreams, the second fragrance launched fall 2000,
Sui Love, the third fragrance launched in spring 2002, eau
de toilette and bath products.
CONTINUED
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