Tuesday, May 8, 2012

Popavina photo shoot!




It was such a pleasure working with Katrina the model, and the Casey the photographer. More images to come!

Saturday, April 28, 2012

Popavina girls!

My childhood friend Karen and 1st Israeli client, wearing her new Popavina dresses! I'm excited and moved.

Sunday, April 22, 2012

New Modest line called MaRa!

Big News! I started another line called MaRa (my Babushka's name). All the dresses and skirts in the line cover the knees and elbows and I'm very excited about it! It's a new concept and there is no other clothing line like that today. I always wanted my designs to "solve" a problem and I feel this is the right way to go. The line is stylish and trendy but still modest and not revealing. Hope you like it!!!!

Behind the scenes of our latest Photoshoot!

                                                               More pics coming soon!

Saturday, April 14, 2012

Mini Popavina!


I recently had the opportunity to create pieces for little buyers - a 3 year old and a 7 year old. It was a fun experience and I'm happy with the finished dresses. It gave me an idea to make matching dresses for moms and their little daughters in the future.

Pixie Queen




Hello Readers, Sorry I've been away! what do you think about Ann's new hair? I think it's gonna take time to get used to. Mia Farrow's is my favorite pixie. It is so chic and it really brings out her eyes and delicate face.

Saturday, March 24, 2012

The art of pricing?

I often ask myself how designers and brands price their items. Would the piece be more affordable if the design process was quick? or just beacuse it's a luxury brand its OK for the consumers to sometimes pay crazy amounts of $$$? Check out the creative and fun clotch abve- it is priced at $6,995. Yes you are reading this right, I did not make a typo!

and maybe it's an inside joke, like Christian Louboutin is saying "you must be on medication to pay that! " 

All I know is, that's more than I paid for my 1st car :) 

Thursday, March 15, 2012

More pics from Distinct Designers boutique!


                                                  Our lovely friends came to support!

Tuesday, March 6, 2012

Popavina dresses at Distinct Designers boutique!


                                                              That was such a fun night!
                    I'm wearing a dress from the new line, made especially for     modest women.

Sunday, March 4, 2012

More Nenna Yvonne pics!


                                                                Nenna  looks so cute!

Thursday, March 1, 2012

Singer Nenna Yvonne in Popavina!

                      New singer Neena Yvonne looks very cute in one of our bestsellers. more pics soon!

Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Anna Karin Karlsson Sunglasses




How cool are these sunglasses!!! I know I'm not original but the only way to look at sunglasses/ eyeglasses is as accessories for the face. They can make a face much more interesting and stylish. Which ones are your favorite?

Sunday, February 19, 2012

Sneaker Wedges Trend

I like these kind of wedges - It's comfy, makes your legs look long and lean and looks great with jeans and dresses! which ones are your favorite??





Friday, February 17, 2012

Popavina & Distinct Designers Boutique

Hello Friends!

I'm very excited to have my line sold in Distinct Designers - a new boutique/ Gallery that only sells local and unique clothing and accessories! come celebrate with drinks and hors d'oeuvres and meet the rest of the designers.


    • Friday, March 2, 2012
    • 5:00pm until 8:00pm

  •        10943 Pico Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90064

Hope to see you there!

Saturday, February 11, 2012

Bai Ling



Life is Funny. I'm working on another line, much more modest than Popavina. Turns out the talented and wildly styled actress; Bai Ling, is a fan and she is wearing one of the new dresses in her upcoming movie 'American Girls'.

Tuesday, February 7, 2012

Anna Sui Bio

"When I was four years old, I was already talking about becoming a designer.  I'm not exactly sure where I got that notion.  It was probably something I saw on television.  I always had it in mind that a designer had beautiful fabrics around her, and a big sketchbook, and would drape cloth around a mannequin, and go out to lunch.  It seemed like a very glamorous life.

I always went fabric shopping with my mom.  I watched her sew and I would take the scraps and make doll clothes.  Once I understood how patterns worked, I started making my own clothes.

I remember reading an article in Life Magazine about two girls who graduated from Parsons School of Design in New York and then moved to Paris, where Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton opened a boutique for them.  As a kid, you think “wow”, you’ve found the magic ticket...all you have to do was move to New York and go to Parsons.  Years later when I went back and re-read that article; I realized that one of the girl’s fathers was the legendary photographer, Irving Penn (which might have given them certain advantages!)

I did go to Parsons.  In my second year, I overheard two seniors talking about a job opportunity at “Charlie’s Girls” with Erica Elias.  I ran up there with my student portfolio, and I got the job.  I was in heaven.  That was probably the best job I could have ever landed because Erica gave me my very own design room to work in.  I had sewing ladies.  I had a draper.  They had five different divisions where I could do swimwear, sportswear and sweaters.  I learned how to do everything.  She was a very tough boss but without that experience, I don't think I could ever have had the same opportunities that I later enjoyed.  When Charlie’s Girls closed, Erica’s name still opened doors for me at many of the other big sportswear houses.

In 1981, I had the idea of doing my own clothing line, but I didn't really know how to go about it.  I had some friends who made jewelry and were going to try to sell it at a trade show.  I made five pieces of clothing and they asked me to share a booth with them.  To my delight, I got orders from Macy's and Bloomingdale's (and was featured in an advertisement in The New York Times)!  At the time, I was working for a company called Glenora.  The man who owned the company saw the ad and said: “Is this girl on our payroll?  Why does she have an ad in the Times?”  He said if I didn't stop, he would fire me.  So I got fired.

That's how I started my business.  I had a loft-like apartment, so I worked out of a little corner of my living room…but it eventually took over.  One morning I woke up, opened the door from my bedroom.  There were boxes everywhere, racks everywhere…and I thought, "Okay, I have to find a space.  I can't live like this anymore."  So I rented half a floor on 39th Street and moved my office there.

In 1990, I had been in business for ten years.  Until then, I never imagined attempting to stage an actual fashion show.  All my friends at the time worked in fashion.  They included:  photographer Steven Meisel, editor Paul Cavaco, hairdresser Garren and make-up artist Francois Nars…along with the most popular models of the time- Linda Evangelista, Naomi Campbell and Christy Turlington.  My apartment was like “clubhouse central”.  Everyone would come over.  We would hang out.  Birthday parties were always at my house. We all knew each other really well.

My friends got together to encourage me that it was the right time for me to take the plunge and consider producing a show.  This was at the height of 1980’s “power-dressing” companies like Chanel, Lacroix and Versace.  Competing against them seemed like the scariest thing I had ever done.  I felt like I had to find my own voice and present my sensibility in a staging that would stand-up next to other big-name fashion houses.

My first show for fall 1991 was one of the giant breakthroughs of my career.  I suddenly started getting a lot of press notice internationally.  It was a case of being in the "right place at the right time".  All the Japanese stores were coming to New York looking for American designers to develop distribution deals with.  I started getting a lot of offers. The company that I finally chose was: Isetan.  It has been the most amazing partnership. Isetan made my collection so famous in Asia.  They opened freestanding Anna Sui boutiques in Japan.  I also got 12 licenses, including a cosmetic line.  And the German company, Wella (now P&G) asked to develop perfume with me.  That's really what made me a global brand.

I give my parents a lot of credit for my success.  My father was a structural engineer and my mother studied painting.  They met when they were both students in Paris.  I get the business side from my father and the artistic side from my mother.  After they married, they traveled throughout Europe for three years and finally settled in the U.S.  My father continued studies at the University of Michigan.  I was born in Detroit.

Growing up and learning about Chinese culture from my parents, and hearing them talk about all the different places they had lived…prepared me for thinking globally.  This perspective took away any fears of being able to function in a foreign country.  Their experiences were a gift to me.

My biggest problem was always money.  Starting with $300 is not a good business plan.  I always had to do extra design jobs just to keep my company going for the first 10 years.  I reinvested every penny I made back into the business.  There were times after I paid my employees that I didn't even have enough money for a subway token, and I would have to walk to my office in the Garment Center.  In those early years, I was often offered magazine editing positions, but I had to remain steadfast about being a fashion designer.  I wanted my own thing, and I resisted anything that would take me off that path.  You have to have an incredible focus. That is one of the big keys to success.  There are sacrifices and tradeoffs that you have to make along the way.  But you have to decide for yourself what's more important.

I'm a very realistic designer. I understand that there's a big difference between a fashion show and the actual product that a consumer buys.  In my own store, I see what women want.  I hear what they're asking for.  On the runway, I'll do crazy styling and crazy accessories, but there's always a beautiful dress or a great shirt underneath.  One of the biggest compliments is when someone tells me, "I have a dress I bought from you 10 years ago- and every time I wear it, my husband tells me look beautiful."  You can't ask for more.

People are attracted to my fashions because of all the elements I try to put into it -- There's always a very sweet feminine, girly aspect…a touch of nostalgia.  There’s also the aspect of trendiness; the hipness I try to create by always adding a rock-and-roll coolness.  There's always that ambiguity…the Good Girl/Bad Girl thing.  All these facets have to go into my designs, or it doesn't look like “Anna Sui”.  Every product I put my name on has to personify the "World of Anna Sui".  When a customer buys a tube of lipstick, it should give them the same excitement as buying a dress from my collection.  If it doesn’t, then I'm not really doing my job."
I have so much more respest for Anna Sui after reading her Bio- she says it like it is, she's not faking it or sugar coding it. I have never read a designer's bio that says they had to keep a side job for 10 years (!!!!) in order to stay in business and keep doing what they love, non the less a famous designer.

Wednesday, February 1, 2012

Sale Ladies Sale!!


                   

Kate Spade video


Kate Spade is one of my favorite brands. I guess it's cause I love everything 50's / 60's, and they keep coming up with cool concepts. I'm also all about the sexy but definitely not TOO sexy models cause at the end of the day, its all about the clothes, and although the models here are very attractive and "precious", I feel it just adds to the video and campian.

Monday, January 30, 2012

Gaultier's Muse






Can you guess from the pics above who's the muse? That's right, it's Amy Winehouse! I think it was a great idea to use her as an inspiration. Now, you might say: "Oh, its too soon", or "Well, that's not very new, to use an icon with a tragic story.." but I think he did a great job, because he transferred her ("street") style to  Cuture, and he uses a Modern Icon, someone who is relevant now.  and let's not forget a super talnted artist-just like him.

Friday, January 27, 2012

Popavina & Bijou Van Ness



The attached images are from the colleboration we did with Headwear designer line Bijou Van Ness. I love how her hats match the exact shades as the dress, I guess it was just meant to be!

Prada Cars



Prada's new shoe collection is AMAZING. Its a cool inspiration, its not the 50's its 50's CARS. Very clever with the vintage use of colors and trim.

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Jeremy Scott

Maybe I'm a late blommer but I really love these Jeremy Scoot Sadle wedges. After seeing the shoes I started looking at his collections and I love all the pop up influences. Here's a ( probably more affordable) knock off:

They are nice...but for sure not as nice as the above onces! I hope they get to stores soon!

Monday, January 16, 2012

Liz lisa!

LIZ LISA 商品一覧

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   My parents were recently in Hong Kong and my mom told me about this boutique. I love the cute styles, bows and lace, although I'm not a fan of  flower prints and patterns.