‘This is the moment for black designers’: Anna Sui on fashion’s cultural and creative shakeups

“This is the moment for black designers and companies to step up. The curtains are open. Go for it,” Sui said on the Glossy Podcast.

Though not equivalent to the black experience, Sui’s childhood was filled with dreams to become a designer despite not seeing anyone who looked like her at the forefront of the biggest labels, she said. “I came from the suburbs of Detroit. At the time when I started designing, there really weren’t other Chinese designers.”

Now Sui’s main collection is sold in 50 Anna Sui boutiques across eight countries and over 300 retailers globally.

“In China, I’m more known for my lipstick and my perfume than I am for my fashion,” Sui said, noting the contrast to the U.S. market.

And in the states, she said, a fashion shakeup is looming.

“We’ve drifted into this minimal look before — this almost uniform look. Business usually gets bad during that period. Then, all of a sudden, something more embellished will look good,” Sui said. “It’s like a pendulum. Whatever is in right now, the opposite is what’s going to make people excited and think, ‘That’s the next big thing.'”

Here are a few highlights from the conversation, which have been lightly edited for clarity.

An opportunity for better representation in fashion
““Well I am Chinese. I had all those obstacles to overcome also. I came from the suburbs of Detroit. At the time when I started designing, there really weren’t other Chinese designers. Maybe in the design rooms, but not at the forefront. So I understand it. But that’s part of what gives you that drive to make it all happen, too. You have to wait for your moment, and right now, this is the moment for black designers and companies to step up. The curtains are open. Go for it. I think that’s really where we’re at right now.”

Fashion is overdue for a creative shakeup
“We’ve seen this happen before. We’ve drifted into this minimal look before — this almost uniform look. Business usually gets bad during that period. Then, all of a sudden, something more embellished will look good. One designer will do something folkloric. It’s like a pendulum. Whatever is in right now, the opposite is what’s going to make people excited and think, ‘That’s the next big thing. That’s it!’ Hopefully, after this period, we’re going to swing full force into something. I’ve been discussing with my friends what happened after the big influenza epidemic: the flapper. I mean, youth culture, dazzling clothes, hemlines went way up, and women became loose and modern and smoked and wore makeup. So let’s hope that there’s something exciting like that that’s going to happen.”

The dangers of a consolidating industry
“Bigger companies buying up the smaller companies — it has really made the focus only on the numbers. It doesn’t allow for creativity anymore. I think we need to create that kind of desire, and it doesn’t have to be on a luxury level. It could be even more artisanal. So many people have spent time during this period and tie-dyed or learned to crochet. I think we’re going to see a resurgence of that, the value of hand-made things again. It’s become price prohibitive, but if we can put together something — like the way the arts and crafts movement was. It was a total reaction against the Industrial Revolution. These artists got together and wanted to show the beauty of hand-crafted things. I think somewhere we’re going to find a balance of that — people taking time and making it themselves.”