Anna Sui taps into the 1960s for AW22.
Ready, Steady, Go! That 1960s’ British dance show provided the starting point for Anna Sui’s fall collection. Coincidentally, one can apply the phrase to Sui’s approach to fashion. She runs her business with ready-steady pragmatism, including her design process, for which she minds all kinds of research, from her own deep trove of knowledge to countless outside sources. Then, research done – Go! From the pastiche she conjures up high-energy collections marked by wit and charm. Just before starting on fall, Sui watched a documentary on the weekly television show, where unknown bands with names like The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and The Who performed for kids who danced madly, done up in their Mod best. Yet Sui didn’t go all in on that look.
Instead, she combined it with other youth-culture references, going back to those original crazy kids of the Twenties. “I started out with Art Deco and then went to New Wave,” she said during a preview. “I love the artist Derick Boshier and also Barney Bubbles, who did all the album covers for The Psychedelic Furs and Billy Idol.” Forgoing a runway show, Sui opted for a video. It features a pair of musicians in his-and-her mohair striped jackets, and a cast of revelers done up with flair. Sui’s intense surface plays run throughout, in geometrics, florals, animal stripes, Deco motifs and all sorts of textures.
A demonstrative mix comes in a shaggy two-toned fake fur over diamond-patterned dress and printed tights. By comparison, a tone-on-tone layering of little purple sweater over a paillette mini dress registers with relative calm. Other notable looks: meaty tweed suitings, sweet schoolgirl dresses, and knits, from graphic New Wave sweaters to skinny poorboy layering pieces. There’s also a crocheted jacket and skirt combo that works craftiness with a dose of attitude. It all comes together in a collection with a specific end use in mind – getting out and enjoying life. Who wouldn’t be all in?
