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SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA: When piecing together her debut collection for 2022’s Afterpay Australian Fashion Week, the biggest challenge designer Michelle Tucker faced was a moral one. Her seven-month-old label, Anna Antal, is named after her beloved designer grandmother who was born in Hungary in 1922 – a renegade era where female designers began countering the constrictive fashions of stiffened crinolines, under structures and corsetry. But for Hungarian women, this newfound sense of freedom and movement was compromised some years later.
“When Russia invaded Hungary in 1956, my grandmother was severely affected by the atrocities of war,” Tucker explains to GRAZIA, citing Antal fled her war-torn home country and opened a boutique in Melbourne, Australia in 1960.
“When the war broke out in the Ukraine recently, I didn’t know if it was appropriate to present a collection that encouraged feelings of optimism and celebration,” Tucker continues. “But after much thought and consideration, I realised that the war had already taken so much from my grandmother and her family and I wasn’t going to allow it to take this opportunity from me.”
And that she didn’t. One of the standout collections of this AAFW season, Tucker (who previously worked in sales at an investment bank and is a mother-of-four) invited journalists to an immersive salon-style space on Friday morning. An untamed palette of acid-bright colours in tangerines, moss greens, and ruby pinks slinked through the room; a kaleidoscope of jaunty patterns intersecting with one another before dispelling into uniquely cut evening dresses, sumptuous suits and pant and top combos fit for a glamorous international soiree.
Interestingly, Tucker’s inspiration was the guest rooms of the Riad El Fenn hotel in Marrakech, “a hidden gem in one of the world’s most vibrant and exotic cities,” she says.
“To properly experience Marrakech, one must immerse themselves in the colour, vibrancy and artisanal heritage of the city,” she continues. “Rich and inviting, each guest room at Riad El Fenn does just that! Uniquely decorated in bright jewel tones and filled with contemporary artwork and colourful, eclectic curiosities, no two rooms are the same. I imagined each piece in the Resort 2023 collection as its very own, uniquely decorated guest room at Riad Anna Antal.”
We imagine such a place would be one of great elegance. Tucker gifted me an Anna Antal piece to wear to the show and during my hurried morning, I was struck for a minute by not only the feel of the garment (soft and hip-skimming), but by how it made me feel wearing it (striking, powerful, confident.) Every room I walked into that day – and there were eight of them – numerous people commented on the unique patterning and style.
“We all have a more confident and self-assured version of ourselves hiding somewhere and the time has come to unleash and embrace boundless possibilities,” says Tucker. “Anna Antal officially launched in October of 2021. Launching the brand during a global pandemic took a great deal of courage but I truly believed people needed hope. My pieces allow people to dream about a life outside a global pandemic. I wanted the collection to give them permission to dream about a life that would again be wonderful.”
She’s right. What a wonderful thought it is to get all dressed up and have somewhere to go. Bravo, Michelle.
