Saturday, February 11, 2012
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.
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.
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