Anna Sui: Trendsetting and Slow Fashion Inspiring since 1990

At the beginning of this year, I was asked about how I qualify a "Major Fashion Designer," which I described as a “problem solver.” I gave the example of Coco Chanel, and how she solved the “problem” of black being seen as a mourning color by bringing it to everyday and celebratory garments. After a semester of learning and reflecting on the fashion designers studied in FTD 400, I have come to a similar but more focused conclusion: In order for someone to be a Major Fashion Designer, they must fill a need by introducing something new, exciting, and impactful, a strategy that is demonstrated incredibly by the Chinese-American designer Anna Sui (Figure 1).

Defining a fashion designer by their target market is not necessarily incorrect, but it can be limiting. Clothing has always been functional, and as the world has evolved, those functions have evolved and changed along with it. Fashion sociologist Yuniya Kawamura differentiates between clothing and fashion in her book Fashion-ology by stating that “clothing has a utility function while fashion has a status function” (Kawamura, 2005), which illustrates that the function of fashion is not physical. She describes fashion as made up of the organizations, events, practices, and people that engage in it. Fashion is a cultural phenomenon, not dissimilar to art, sport, or music, and exists as an agent to satiate the fashion impulse. Humanity has consistently demonstrated a need for self-expression, and a Major Fashion Designer is someone who not only understands but also celebrates this truth about the foundation of the fashion industry.

Anna Sui, a Detroit native, famously created looks that were worn by Madonna, including the one pictured (see Figure 2) for a Vogue photoshoot and a babydoll dress for a Jean Paul Gaultier show. Sui recollects how envious she was of Madonna’s access to clothing, saying that, at that time, she thought “here is somebody who can have anything she wants” (Van Evra, 2019). Sui also says that the moment she realized that Madonna was going to wear her dress is the moment that she realized she could make a name for herself. If pop icon and self expressionist Madonna felt at home in her clothes, there was nothing she could not do.

Another aspect of my qualification is that in order for someone to be a Major Fashion Designer, they must create something new and exciting. In a fashion history textbook, the word “fashion” is shown to have many meanings as many parts of speech (Welters and Lillethun, 2018). It exists as a verb, as a noun, and as an adjective. “Fashion,” in and of itself, has never been singular. It is constantly shifting and undulating, and has many driving forces that pull it in many directions at once. Anna Sui was a very influential designer in the early 1990s, and contributed heavily to the “romantic rock and roll” aesthetic that many associate with the 1990s. She often described her ‘90s shows as “a party scene backstage,” and many of the models that walked her runway were unforgettable icons of the time, both inside and outside of fashion. Naomi Campbell, Stella Tenant, and Amber Valletta all walked for her Spring 1997 show, but so did Dave Navarro of Jane’s Addiction and the Red Hot Chili Peppers (see Figure 3). Anna Sui didn’t just make punk clothing, she molded punk culture into something new and exciting.

In addition to these qualifications, a Major Fashion Designer is defined by the impact of their work. A lot of the designers covered in class were known as “the mother/father of” something. For instance, Charles Worth is known as “The Father of Haute Couture," and Claire McCardell is known as “The Mother of American Sportswear.” The idea of being a “parent” of something implies that they created something new, exciting, and most importantly, long-lasting. Worth is known as the father of haute couture because many designers after him took this concept of high-end fashion and ran with it, introducing new styles and building upon the concept, but that central idea of “haute couture” remained present in the genre, shown through the materials used, construction techniques, and the wearers of the garments. Similarly, McCardell’s “invention” of American sportswear was not just fashionable sportswear, but an introduction of the fashion impulse into the functional garments worn while wearing sports. New fashions have very often been popularized by celebrities: movie stars, politicians, musicians, and other influential people who are put in the spotlight. Recently, we’ve seen a rise in athletes being included in this subsection of “celebrity,” and the rise in athleisure as a form of fashion (as opposed to being seen as “just clothing”) has allowed for many previously underrepresented groups to become influential in popular culture. Even Sui, a designer known much more for maximalism than sportswear, has included elements of modern sportswear in her pieces (see Figure 4). The idea of “subcultures” and “aesthetics” allow for something to be fashionable even if it isn’t widely accepted by everyone, as long as it is widely accepted within that subgroup (Porter, 2022). To create something that is accepted by or even inspires a subculture is the mark of a Major Fashion Designer, as it speaks to their ability to create something that people choose to incorporate into their identity.

With the rise of sustainability, slow fashion, and under-consumption in the fashion industry, “vintage” styles have come into the limelight, both through modern design and production, and through the whole new product market of used “vintage” and “thrifted” clothes. While many have observed and run with this trend, none have truly embraced it like Anna Sui. First and foremost, her involvement in popular ‘90s and early 2000s culture and fashion has created a unique opportunity for her to take inspiration from and modernize the styles she once created, without seeming inauthentic. Artistic inspiration comes from life experiences, and who better to design clothing reflective of a particular time in popular culture history than one who not only lived through that time, but thrived through it? As stated by Emily Mercer of MSN News, “Sui has always been on the pulse of youth culture, whether it's '60s Mod, '70s boho, '90s grunge or today's vintage redux trend” (Mercer 2024).

Additionally, Anna Sui as an individual and as a brand has been incredibly successful during the push towards secondhand clothing. Her own vintage pieces littered across reselling platforms such as Etsy, Poshmark, and ThredUp , which solidifies her longevity as an artist. Additionally, her website boasts a “Vintage” section, including “Anna’s Vintage Closet,” which contains vintage pieces curated by Anna Sui herself, and Eveliina Vintage, a longstanding vintage curating company that has listed some of their pieces on Sui’s website. These sections of Sui’s website serve to flesh out the idea of the “Anna Sui” aesthetic, stating that the pieces “are sure to accent your Anna Sui style” (ANNA SUI - Official Shopping Site, n.d.). Because Sui was so influential in the 1990s and early 2000s, she is able to curate a subculture that includes more than just her designs. Yes, one can own Anna Sui clothing, accessories, fragrances, and home furnishings, but that doesn’t mean anything if you aren’t in the “Anna Sui” mindset. The “Anna Sui” subculture is no longer about the materials she uses, the styles she leans into, or even the clothes that she creates; it is about the community that it inspires.