We're about to start our super awesome Anni Kuan trunk show, and I thought I would shed a little more light on this designer we love. Amanda and I were chatting today about the different styles we loved, the highligh pieces, and all that good stuff....and then we started talking fabric. We realized that you all probably have the initial "uh, huh....." response when you see some of the fabric contents of some AK styles. I admit it, I have a knee jerk response to the word "polyester"...a physical reaction and association that is in no way positive. It conjures up words like cheap, tacky, scratchy, the list goes on. So when I look on the site, and see something that says "60% poly, 14% nylon, 10%...blah, blah, blah", my first thought is "uh...really?" BUT...I have the bonus of knowing this designer, and being able to touch and feel all her luxuious fabric choices. Hence, the feeling that we need to really explain more. The reality is, she (Anni Kuan) finds INSPIRATION in the fabrics first, she shops all the high end texture mills, hunts thru Europe, NY, and Asia. She finds, touches, feels, becomes inspired, and that's the foundation of her designs. Every line sheet she sends us has swatches of her fabrics for each style---because she is proud of how gorgeous they are, and she knows that seeing and touching them will inspire us too. She doesn't compromise on quality, and the modern day textile mills weave magic with poly blends, they perform miracles with complicated blends of natural, and unnatural fibers, to create amazing texture, feel, and wearability. Modern polyester in no way resembles the 70's poly...it's come a long, long way.
There's a perceived value in buzz words like "wool" or "cashmere" or "alpaca". The truth is though, it's all about how something feels to the touch, how the fabric wears, and it washes, how it lives on the body. The other truth is that some of the technology used to create a gorgeous brocade or ponte blend, or poly jersey, costs far more than your average wool or cotton blend---they are more sophisticated processes. Anni doesn't seek out a fabric because the buzz word will work to sell it, she seeks out what she loves, and trusts that wewill fall in love with it once we feel it, once we put it on our bodies, and once we move in it. As Amanda said, "her designs come alive when you put them on your body." It's very true.
So that's the deal people. I figured some of you out there probably went thru the same fabric thought process as we did when you looked at styles/fabric contents, and we wanted you to know that you are SAFE....each and every piece she produced this season feels dreamy, and in the end the unique fabric, colors, textures...they are what make each of her styles unique and special.
Signed, ME {lv}
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