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Anna Sui modeled her Spring 2021 Collection after the Depression-era watercolors of Charles Burchfield, the washed-away colors of the 1966 Czech movie Daisies.
And if you were a die hard fan of the brilliant designer, you would notice this line is looking less vibrant than her previous collections.
Perhaps, it’s the commentary on the fashion industry as a whole. In the wave of a pandemic, fashion faced its own great depression. In the midst of chaos with a limitation on runway shows and art being produced, we’ve seen many of our own industry members lose jobs, shift focus, and create a whole new path in this era.
For those who have prevailed in creativity during this time. We applaud them.
And to designers who have voiced this change by creating a story in their art.
Bravo.
Sui’s collection to us says more than just beautiful and whimsical playfulness.
It’s finding the beauty in life even when the world seems bleak.
Ivories, soft pinks, and jade greens are subtle tones to a calm spring, but it’s Sui’s attention to details that make each ensemble dynamic.
Her detail to sweet smocking, delicate floral embroidery, lace panels and whimsical edgings give her pieces an aura of sweetness and playfulness.
She titled the collection Heartland, a nod to the homesteaders emerging craftily from the dust bowl, but also in celebration of those nearest and dearest to her heart.
Our studio work closely with Anna to detail smocking and shirring on baby doll dresses, gathering of puff and balloon sleeves, and ruffled hems.
It’s hard to see the magic in a piece while it’s in production, but after every stitch and crease the design springs to life.
Why do we love Anna Sui?
For one of our interns,
“I have always gravitated towards Anna Sui and her designs. I think they strike a chord for me because she combines femininity with boldness through the use of busy patterns and eye catching colors. She maintains her personal style while still adhering to time periods and trends as can be seen from her past collections through her most recent. Music is one of her biggest influences and she manages to find the parallel from music to fashion and translate it into her pieces. In my life, I find music and fashion to be two of the biggest impacts and her ability to correlate them together gives me profound appreciation for her and her work.”
Also please note the slightly less hideous Birkenstocks.
Yes, I hate comfortable footwear, but even I’m not opposed to the hybrid of dainty and clunky footwear Sui somehow sold me on.
[ Now currently scouring the city for these, before the summer hits.]
Anonymous fashion tips should be sent to social@nyes.co.
Ridiculous pen name required. No exceptions.
Whimsical socks-and-sandals styling with a vintage twist.
The History of Smocking.
A study in structured fabric textures.
Smocking and shirring before it was a staple for 90’s tube tops and sweet sundresses, it was actually a sign of labor and lower class in the past.
Ever hear of the farmer’s smock?
Smocking originated in England in the Middle Ages as fabric that could stretch and hold form for laborers (i.e. farmers) who didn’t need long frocks and fabrics getting in the way of work, but enough stretch and movement to efficiently move.
Probably a peasant’s style due to the technique being one of the stranger ways to embroider.
However, style has a way of coming to back into fashion. A faux pax of the past has become trend of the future.
What is smocking?
Smocking is a decorative embroidery technique that gathers fabric in a patterned way to create elasticity and texture. It typically requires lightweight or medium-weight fabrics, such as cotton or voile, that can be easily manipulated. The fabric is first gathered into pleats—often using a method called tabling or grid marking—and then stitched over the pleats with embroidery stitches in repeated patterns. These stitches not only hold the gathers in place but also create intricate designs that add visual interest and structure to the garment. Originally used to provide flexible comfort in cuffs, bodices, and necklines before the invention of elastic, smocking continues to be both a functional and decorative technique in contemporary design.