Anna Sui
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| Anna Sui | |
| Personal Information | |
|---|---|
| Name | Anna Sui |
| Nationality | Chinese-American |
| Birth date | 1964 |
| Birth place |  Detroit, Michigan |
| Education | Parsons School of Design |
| Working Life | |
| Label Name | Anna Sui |
| Awards and Prizes | Time Magazine- Top 5 Fashion Icons of the Decade |
Anna Sui (萧志美|[2]) (born in 1964, in Detroit, Michigan USA) is an American fashion designer. She has 509 [1]boutiques in twenty-six countries, with over 200 in Japan alone. [1] Her collection is sold in 5,000 partner stores on five continents in over 70 countries.[1]
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[edit] Biography
Sui was born to Chinese immigrant parents; her father was an engineer who graduated from The Sorbonne in Paris, at which her mother also studied painting.[2] At a young age, Sui dressed her dolls and her neighbor's toy soldiers, and pretended they were at the Oscars.[3] According to photographer Taka Kawachi, as Sui was growing up, she "began clipping fashion-magazine pages and filing in now what she calls her Genius Files, which have been an inspiration to her throughout her career."[3] During her senior year of high school, Anna Sui received a scholarship to attend Parson's School of Design in New York.[3] While there, she became close friends with photographer Steven Meisel[3] who is today widely recognized as the industry's leading photographer.
After leaving Parson's, she worked for a variety of junior sportswear companies. Sui's business continued to expand in the 1980s. In 1991, she launched her first runway show.[4] It was in 1992 that she took a chance with a personal clothing line and opened her first boutique shop at 113 Greene Street in New York City's Soho District. This shop, with its purple walls and red floors, reflects her taste for pairing flea market furniture and dolly head mannequins. According to relative Grant Sui, "The stores have come to emphasize the epitome of culture in a continually shifting fashion world."
The first of Sui's freestanding boutiques in Asia opened in May 1997 in Tokyo. The second opened in Osaka in the fall of that same year. In following years, the popular stores soon expanded to over 200 independent locations all over Japan. Isetan Company Limited has attained the main license for the Japanese distribution of the women's collection and Mammina, a subsidiary of Isetan, is the distributor to department and specialty stores there. Through this partner, Anna Sui Corp has grown into one of Japan's top luxury fashion brands.
In 1997, Anna Sui Shoes premiered on her runway for the fall collection. Manufactured by Ballin in Venice, Italy, the shoe collection is comprised of both day and evening styles, and include velvet, silk, patent leather, snake and lizard skin, shearling and suede.
Anna Sui opened her Los Angeles boutique in 1998 in Sunset Plaza, in West Hollywood. Sui also made headway with the international markets as boutiques sprang up in countries like China, Taiwan, South Korea, Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand, and the Philippines.
In 1999, Sui launched her signature fragrance and cosmetic line after signing with Wella AG, of Germany to develop it. In a three-sided arrangement, Wella shares the Anna Sui beauty business with Japanese cosmetics maker Albion, who holds the Anna Sui color cosmetics and skin care license. Under the agreements, Wella will produce and market Anna Sui fragrances while Albion introduces the Anna Sui color collection to Japan and the broader Asian market. Wella will sell the fragrances to Albion, which will distribute them inside Japan, while Albion will sell the color cosmetics to Wella for distribution outside Japan. For Fall 2000, Sui Dreams, the second Anna Sui fragrance, launched worldwide. Since its beginning, the fragrance line has expanded to include, Sui Love, Sui Dreams, Dolly Girl, and most recently, in association with Victoria's Secret, the fragrance Secret Wish. Internationally the brand has also grown primarily in the Asian market. Recent contracts over the last decade have helped to develop the brand, in conjunction with partner stores, in over 5,000 locations across 70 countries. In addition, rampant sales growth has allowed the corporation the construction of over 509 independent boutiques in 26 nations, with dozens of locations in the planing stage across East Asia and Western Europe. In its February 4, 2006 issue, Fortune Magazine estimated the net worth of the fashion empire at over $400 million dollars.
She was called a designer who "never panders" by The New York Times, and named to Time Magazine's list of this decade's top five fashion icons. Sui also appeared in a special CNN Talk Asia interview which was welcomed with top-monthly ratings by the region. Anna Sui continues to design and manufacture her signature collection in her New York City headquarters. There she has ardently fought to keep the fashion industry alive in New York City's fading Garment District. She has also provided the costume designs for the anime series, Gankutsuou: The Count of Monte Cristo. Sui's designs attract many famous clients such as Patricia Arquette, Christina Ricci, Cher, Naomi Campbell, Sofia Coppola, Lindsay Lohan, Hillary Duff, Maria Sharapova, Liv Tyler, Courtney Love of Hole and James Iha of the Smashing Pumpkins. In early 2007, Sui's Twinkle by Wenlan and Betsy Johnson dresses were big sellers in the Macy'sdepartment's new spring fashion line. Additionally, Sui was contracted by Samsung Electronics Co. to design cellular telephones.
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