A veteran flea-market scavenger, Anna Sui is a mixmaster who gives equal weight to thrift-store treasures and fine antiques. The same holds true for her collections, where she tosses decades and movements together with gusto.
While many designers have zeroed in on the mid-’60s mod aesthetic this season, Sui focused instead on the end of that decade, specifically the London boutique Biba and its art deco motifs and girlish, narrow-cut fashions. She sent out sweet little dresses in lace or printed chiffon with fluttery handkerchief hems, body-hugging cardigans, slim harlequin-pattern jerseys, and popcorn-knit sweaters in muted plums, browns and greens. But like a juggler itching for a challenge, Sui upped the ante by tossing in another decade—the ’70s, which showed up in patchwork quilted parkas, anoraks and a group of ski pants paired (confusingly) with beaded chiffon tops. It was a lot to handle, but Sui is a confident fashion deejay, and in her hands it all became cheerful, noisy fun.
