For Anna Sui and Chase Sui Wonders Fashion Is a Family Affair

0:28This is The Run Through. I'm Chloe Mell. she's a great actor but also just seems like a very smart fun young woman and we maybe know why because her aunt is just that also Anna has the book the 90s which was recently released and was placed on every seat at her runway show which was held at the Chelsea Hotel and it was so much fun to go through those images of all of her baby doll dresses and Sofia Coppola looking like a young ingenue and great Anna Sui lace and prints. So that's a real time capsule that I think everyone will enjoy paging through. And it also has Anna's fashion drawings and a lot of great stories from the 90s.

1:14Anna, Chase, and Nicole discussed 90s fashion, Anna's career, and what Chase has learned from her aunt. But yes, I think everyone's going to love this. and before we get to that choma we need to talk about your bonkers cover it is gwyneth at sort of at her most delightfully unhinged this is my favorite version of my favorite version of gwyneth because i think people tend to forget that she actually has a really great sense of humor and doesn't take herself too seriously and we really wanted to encapsulate that sort of wink wink nature of her personality in the cover and I you know I love it I love a giggle I love a sense of humor I knew that Venetia Scott would totally get that from her yes and my dear friend Stella Greenspan styled it and they had a blast I mean it was like where was that shot it was actually shot in an apartment it was shot in an apartment in New York it wasn't at her home which I think at this point is super recognizable like people yeah she hosts parties at her home in in her new york home in the hamptons yeah which is where giles hattersley um interviewed her i read oh my god yes he really had fun with that my colleague giles is like i always love it when he gets usually he doesn't get the opportunity to write these in-depth features but i love it when he does because he's mostly editing most of the magazine um so it was a it was a real treat to have him on it and he was their conversation just completely fizzled off the page it was it's really it's really fun and it's just yeah no they clearly had a really good time together yeah and she has she has a new film out which i haven't i'm dying to go to a screening of i think it's gonna be i don't know it sounds i love the idea that she didn't she it was funny because she didn't know much about timothy before she was starring opposite him and one of my favorite parts in the interviews where basically he's talking about his girlfriend and she doesn't know that his girlfriend is kylie jenner i know that made me laugh out loud where she was like oh your girlfriend has kids that's so impressive blah blah blah and then she was like i assumed it was like a 45 year old woman

3:35we won't give it all away but i encourage everybody to read it it's a really fun read no but marty supreme is i feel like going to be the movie of of the season so i'm very excited to see that yeah me too me too choma we need to catch up post paris it's such a treat when i get to see choma in the flesh these days it was really fun it was a really fun season right it was incredible i mean never people keep asking me about and i'm like well i feel like i have to enjoy it because Because it will never be like that in the near future. I mean, perfectly timed for your new role. I feel like fashion just got exciting just for you.

4:12That's exactly right, Choma.

4:17Choma, who were you sitting with at the Chanel show? Like, set the scene for you there. Because I do feel like it was a seismic moment for all of us. It was. I was sitting next to Mario Sorrenti. And there were so many amazing photographers in the audience. We were trying to guess who's shooting the campaign. It was so, I mean, walking into the space, first of all, it was completely spellbound because literally I've always been obsessed with the galaxy and the planets. So it was like a childhood dream to walk into that room because I don't know if you, I bought one of those little kind of light machines that you can project the galaxy on your ceiling for my nephew.

4:57Oh, you have? Because I love them as a... I was like, Choma, I like this for your sleep hygiene. I mean, yeah, I vicariously threw my nephew because he also really, you know, I was obsessed with going to the planetarium and this. So it was just literally like a childhood dream come true to walk onto that set. And, you know, we were so used to Carl imagining these otherworldly landscapes and sets. But I think he did it in his own way, a set that really made you dream. It felt like totally like him. So first of all, just walking into that space was incredible. Where were you sat and what was your feeling just walking into that show?

5:34Well, I had gone to a preview of the collection with Anna and he had told us about the set, but never would I have imagined that it would actually translate in such a magical way. I have a three and a five year old, so I spent a lot of time in the planetarium at the Natural History Museum. But nothing could compare me for this. It really was to me that the experience of walking into the Grand Palais and seeing the planets and also the way that it was some of the plants were suspended, but some were sliced in half and coming out of the ground, but then reflected in the floor. So they looked whole.

6:13It just was magic and reminded you why fashion is transporting and powerful and exciting. And then when the actual show started, that was underscored even more. The anticipation was so high. And yet he didn't seem to be burdened by it at all because the clothes had this levity and joy and sense of ease and cool while being incredibly chic, which I thought was really special. and then you had that moment at the end where like Awar completely had her viral moment dance across the the runway and it was so it was just so joyful in a moment like you know the world is the world is a crazy insane dark place but I think it reminded me like why we do what we do and then of course there's a wonderful Chanel profile of Mathieu Blasé who was photographed off by Annie Leibovitz.

7:11An insane image of him kind of... Hanging out of a window. I was like, we need to contextualize this in the captions so it doesn't look like he's going to jump. It looks insane. I wonder, you know, love a nanny picture. It was so great. And him in, obviously, on the iconic studio, which is so recognizable, that mirrored staircase. Running up the stairs. It's so good. Yeah, it's really fab. And then, obviously, our favorite model of the moment, Awar, is in the accompanying portfolio. which was styled by Amanda Harlick. I love that portfolio. I know, right? Raph Pavarotti and Amanda Harlick worked on that together.

7:47And it is such a joyful, beautiful way to encapsulate clothes that we're all so excited about. Jomo, tell me what you did after Fashion Week. So my feet have barely touched the ground, to be honest, because I quickly made a pit stop back in London. And then I turned around and went to Berlin for our colleague Kirsten Wang's amazing Forces of Fashion in Berlin. She's the head of editorial content of Vogue Germany. And it was it was their annual conference. And it was so much fun. I was on a panel with with Claire, who heads up Vogue France, who's recently been on the pod. And we were just talking about what it means to make a magazine in these different to make Vogue in these different territories.

8:34and every six months we all meet as a group, which is something I think we've discussed on the pod and we talk about all of the things that we care about and what's happening in fashion. And it's kind of great because you've all become such great friends, honestly, like all these different heads of editorial content from all over the world. And so it was fun to keep that conversation going for an audience, but I almost felt like I forgot that people were listening to us. Well, that means it was a good conversation. It was. It was. I'm sad I missed Jean-Paul Gaultier's conversation because I flew in that morning.

9:11He was also there, as was Jeremy Scott, who's always amazing on a panel. It's always fantastic to hear him speak. So it was a really fun, packed day. Came back, and it's been full steam ahead here because it's Freeze and also the London Film Festival. And I went to see my friend Khalil Joseph and Onye. he's an incredible director and artist and he has this film called Black News Terms and Conditions he's worked with the likes of Beyonce and Kendrick Lamar and this was his first feature and it was such an amazing feat of honestly cinema I have to say this week in New York has been like book party central uh on Monday night I went to the uh financial journalist powerhouse, Aaron Ross Sorkin, has a new book out on the story of the crash of 1929.

10:03But it was very funny because the party was in a grand room at the new Waldorf Astoria with like all of the city's biggest business mockers. So it was very not 1929 crash feeling. But that was sort of a fun room to be in and to people watch. And then last night, I went to two book parties. Caroline Palmer, who used to work with us and was the... Oh, yeah. I have that book. Oh, it's so fun, Choma. You are going to love it. She wrote a novel that is inspired by working at Vogue in the early aughts. And it's so witty and sharp. And I love the way that she describes Four Times Square and the social dynamics.

10:47And it's called Workhorse. And it's really a fun read. And so she had her book party, which was also like a Vogue reunion of colleagues past and present, which is always a delight. And then I went uptown to Christine O 'Neill and Laura Brown had a book party for their great new book, All the Cool Girls Get Fired, which is a really fun concept where both of them lost their jobs. And they then discovered that a lot of very impressive women had been fired from jobs throughout their careers. And so they have incredible people interviewed for their book. And that was a very starry room. A lot of cool girls at the all the cool girls get fired.

11:32And then tonight there is Anna and Mark Waducci are co-hosting a cocktail event and screening and conversation with Victoria Beckham about her new documentary, which I watched the first episode of. And it's really fun. I also love seeing Mark Holgate interviewed. So that's a delight. Yes, I've heard. I've heard he's quite the star in the documentary. Exactly. He's actually in episode two. But yes, that's as far as I've gotten. but people are very excited about that. Choma, I want to know what you think about Skim's new bush. I'm here for it. I'm here for it. I do think this kind of trompe l 'oeil around the body has been percolating a little bit.

12:18Obviously, Jean-Paul Gaultier, the original Jean-Paul Gaultier, was very much about using the naked body as part of his work with those trompe l 'oeil, those original trompe l 'oeil prints that he had that were mostly taken from Grecian sculptures. So it was funny to see it popping up at Jean-Paul Gaultier under Duran Lantic's creative directorship. And then, you know, we had the news this week of the return of the bush on Skims, where I think it really made some noise. So I don't know. I'm always here for the bush. I'm into a 70s bio. Can you describe what we're talking about for the uninitiated?

12:59it's basically underwear that that makes is is kind of a cheeky nod to you you know push it's a thong merkin it's a thong merkin that's right oh yeah and of course we had the merkin is the new merkins we had the merkins on the marge on on um yeah the margello merkin really brought the bush back and this is bringing the bush to the mainstream i don't know i think skims are really good at doing stunts. I thought the face taping, what was that, that face wrapping, that face wrap was such a genius idea. And this is another one. And I'm sure somebody will wear it and wear it for Halloween outside their clothing.

13:39And maybe you can actually get a little bit closer to reinterpreting those amazing. I mean, you could still do that Margiela Couture show for Halloween if you wanted to, because I think it was so iconic. It stands the test of time. It stands It's a test of time, even though now it's like literally two years old. But I don't know. I don't know where these Merkins are going to end up. What do you think? I mean, people have to live their lives, whatever they need to do. Yeah. Choma, we are—you're going to be here next week, which I'm so excited about. Choma and I are having an intimate lunch on Monday, which I couldn't be happier about.

14:14but then we all set sail for Vogue World on the American Airlines Vogue World Express on Thursday morning. This is a big deal. We have a whole plane for our... So wait, are you on that plane? Oh, yeah. Oh, my God. I kind of want you to do a podcast on the plane. Is this happening? Yes, we were talking about that. I'm going to send you voice notes. Oh, my God. I cannot wait. Poor Virginia and Naomi and their team are packing 77-0 trunks of clothes that are going for this show. Alex Harrington has been a stalwart warrior styling this runway show. It is going to be such a huge undertaking. I'm so excited to see this come to fruition.

15:01All right, Chalma, fly safe. I can't wait to see you. Snuggle you. I can't wait to see you. You're so funny. Snuggle. Bye. Smooches.

15:21The run-through will be back in a moment.

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16:09And we're back with Anna and Chase Swee. Anna, Chase, welcome. I'm so excited to have you both on the run-through. Thank you, Nicole. Thanks. This is so fun. It is. It is. From the dinner table to the podcast booth. So we are at the end of a very intense fashion week, as we were saying before we started recording, Anna. And I wondered if you paid any attention, if you have any feelings about all of the debuts we saw. What stands out to you? Yeah, I think it's such an exciting moment because we know it obviously is going to change. I don't know that it really hit on exactly where it's going yet.

16:50But I think that the fact that everyone's so open to change, everybody's like anticipating it. I think that this is this is just the beginning. I loved Chanel. I love Pierre Paolo, Balenciaga. I mean, I think that there's just a big change coming. And I don't think we've even seen where it's going yet. We talk about that a lot, right? The sense of the vibes, vibes potentially shifting or we're waiting for the vibes to shift. Yeah, I mean, that's the best moment. And then once it becomes very obvious, it's just like it just takes off and so exciting. Chase, did you pay attention to the runway shows at all?

17:32How closely do you watch fashion? I did. I mean, this one specifically, just because there was so much talk about it. I think definitely my aunt helps influence that. I think we got brunch a bit ago and I was like, what's going on? What's happening? But we were looking through Chanel and that was my favorite one. I feel like that one was so talked about. But what he did with just the codes of the house and now it's like true to it, but also taking it in a new direction, I thought was so cool. And so it felt very like mixing personal style with the classic Chanel codes of the house. It felt very desirable, right?

18:08Yes. And like aspirational. With like crochet, fringy. It was like just exciting to see. But what about Dries too? I thought that was exciting. Yes, Julian Klausner is really making very strong moves there. I think not being timid at all in how he's interpreting Dries Van Noon. Yeah, it was dazzling to watch. And how he evolved through that quietness and then all of a sudden, bam. Yes, I love the way it went from like the ivories and the grays and then the color at the end. And that was very, very you, right? Right. These Pantone, Werner Panton sort of prints. So much. Yes, I can see how you would like those.

18:45Really exciting. And that surfer vibe. And yeah, I think it's like everything we love. Yeah. All right. Well, we are here to talk about your new book, Anna Swee, The 90s. Tell me why you decided to make it. Well, I think that all of us have been hearing so much about the 90s. There's so much curiosity about it. And I really have to credit my nieces for dressing up every Thanksgiving and Christmas in their mom's 90s clothes and saying, Auntie Anna, you've got to do this again. These cuts are so good. Oh my God, like this dress fits so well. You have to do this. You have to do that. So it just started the ball rolling.

19:23And then some of the retailers started approaching me first opening ceremony when we did our exhibition at the Museum of Art and Design. and then Marc Jacobs bringing back his grunge collection and asking me to recreate some of my grunge collection. So it was just a natural thing that happened that everybody wanted it again. And then so many people picked up on it. Like we got a lot of calls from all the new celebrities, Olivia Rodrigo and Ariana Grande. And it's just been really exciting to see. And the book is full of all of this, like arcana, these beautiful old Polaroids from the time. We did not have digital cameras then.

20:05So, you know, you have all of the models and your handwriting on the Polaroids, the clippings from the New York Times, from Women's Wear Daily. What was the process like of finding all of that material? Well, I'm such a pack rat. I just would take everything after the season, put it in a box, and slide it underneath the rack in my closet. And so I really just had to bring out those boxes. And they were just kind of all in chronological order. And I mean, not anywhere near organized, but just digging through those. We found all that. And, you know, the Polaroids were so essential because it was almost like having like trading cards, playing cards.

20:45Like you would use those to figure out the lineup. You would use those to sort out like who was going to wear what, what they looked best in. And so I just would shuffle those around on my desk like hour after hour figuring out the collection. Yes. As a person who was alive and watching fashion in the 90s, I respect that feeling of you want the actual material thing. And I sometimes find it hard to do things on the computer the way the kids do today. It's so true. Like I like to have it in my hand. Yes. And think about it in my hand rather than on a screen. I don't know. It's just having that like material thing.

21:26I also think that you have a photographic memory because I will like wear something and my aunt will just be like, oh, yeah, spring 97. And it's incredible how she remembers kind of every piece. I do think that's true. She can kind of place it in time and then tell a story about it. Chase, what is the attraction to these old clothes? You're wearing your mom's 90s pieces. I actually, I'm currently wearing my mom's 90s Anna Sweet jacket. That's from the second collection. There you go. The photographic memory at work. I think, I mean, I just, I love vintage. I think, I mean, my aunt has always, when we go shopping, we're always going to vintage stores.

22:06And I feel like it's kind of the way to keep originality and also the way to ensure that clothes are like made well and that they'll last and they will persevere through trend cycles. And, I mean, I guess that was kind of like the formative years of when we were exposed to fashion. And going to my aunt's shows as a kid, that was kind of like, it felt like the heyday. And I feel like it's not just me and my sister and my cousins. I feel like it's like a TikTok trend. I think there are like Anna Sweet girlies on TikTok who are like 19 years old who are, you know, referencing her 90s shows and wearing her T-shirts that are like revitalizations of the 90s iconography.

22:51And yeah, I think it's I think it's kind of a more wide swept thing that's happening. But yeah, I just I'm constantly wearing 90s stuff, especially my aunt's stuff. Do you remember being a little girl at those shows that there are pictures of you at? I do. I mean, I think much to my aunt's dismay, I was really a tomboy and I would wear the same outfit like every day. Your bumblebee pants? My bumblebee pants, my velvet, really ugly, bumblebee yellow black pants. And I would insist on wearing them every day. And like, yeah, but my aunt's show was a chance to dress up, even though I was upset about it.

23:31There are some pretty iconic photographs of me. There's one particular that maybe we can share with you guys, me on Naomi Campbell's lap, looking really upset in this beautiful Anna Sui dress that's like red crushed velvet and like white lace. And I'm just looking like I'm about to cry. And I remember before my aunt's show, I told my mom that my forehead was really itchy and I needed a Band-Aid. And I wouldn't go to the show unless I had a Band-Aid on my forehead. So there's a Winnie the Pooh Band-Aid just across my forehead. So those are kind of like my early memories. I didn't really know what was going on.

24:08It was sensory overload. And I remember I had to wear a dress, which was... But you grew up outside of Detroit, right? Yes. So you would make special trips to see Anna's shows? Yeah, yeah. Yeah, that was like the big family trip and where we would, you know, see all of our extended family and see, you know, my aunts and uncles and second cousins. And that it was always like a family reunion and a chance to get together. And more and more every season there'd be more relatives coming and grandma and grandpa would come and there'd always be a big dinner after. Yeah. And the dinner usually consisted of us kind of trying to make a family tree of how we were all related because it's like second cousins twice removed.

24:49We're trying to figure out the whole lineage. So, yeah, it was always very special. I feel like going to your shows now, there is that sense of it's like really a family. And I want to get to that later. But I mean, especially looking at the images in the book, there was a really beautiful atmosphere backstage. We get to see pictures of models we all know very well, you know, in their infancy, practically in the in the early 90s. Will you paint a picture of what it was like in those early days after you started doing runway shows? Yeah, I mean, it was very organic because I knew Linda, Christy and Naomi from Stephen Meisel as friends.

25:32And we would have dinners together, birthday parties together. And they were the ones who helped me get all the other models when I did my first show. And you can see backstage, Kevin Hatt captured that. And he was one of Stephen's assistants. and he had his camera and it was such a family atmosphere. We would just be sitting around gossiping, watching Francois doing the makeup. Francois Nars. Francois Nars and then Garen doing the hair. And, you know, the models, it's an age old thing, would be fighting over who was going to get their makeup done first or they would be sitting around gossiping.

26:09So it's all captured in those photos. and just the insiders that were around were just all hanging out backstage. And then eventually the backstage grew bigger and bigger as the models were starting to bring their boyfriends backstage and then more assistance. But in the beginning, there wasn't a lot of people. It was just us. And I think when we saw each other at your show in September, You talked about it having maybe it was more authentic. It was raw. There were fewer cameras backstage. Yeah. I mean, it was intimate. It was just us. And I think Kevin was probably the only one allowed to photograph when we were sitting around there because Stephen always controlled that sort of thing.

26:59There wasn't like all the throngs of photographers and journalists coming back before the show at that point. Again, as I said, it grew and grew as the New York Fashion Week got more and more organized as we settled on Bryant Park. And suddenly it was like international press and photographers and all the fashion television shows, too, covering every second. So it all grew. But you can see how it was in the very beginning. Very, very intimate. Do you have nostalgia for those old days? Yeah. Yeah. And I mean, we still try to keep my backstage as chill as possible. I think that you've been there before the shows and you've seen that it's not a big scene anymore.

27:45It's really just the essential people and maybe a few people that are allowed to come back. So the book is organized by theme. Well, first of all, you have a range of incredible contributors, including Mark Jacobs and my former Vogue Runway colleague, Steph, Yatka, and they are all weighing in on different aspects of, you know, you and your career, but you've organized it by theme. There's the baby doll dress, the slip dress. When I think of you, I think of you less in terms of like a specific silhouette and more of like a vibe or an aesthetic, you know, colors mixing together, patterns mixing together, and this incredible way of layering.