Age is a mindset. Or so was the spirit Anna Sui evoked in her Fall 2023 collection, returning in her mind to a shuttered Manhattan restaurant-cum-club, called the Peppermint Lounge, to arrive at a collection fitting for today. What might that look like? An upbeat wardrobe of outerwear and slinky separates that nod to the 90s, the 60s and now, giving wearers permission to remix style codes and traverse eras and environments as they please.
It began with the 90s: iridescent slip dresses and camisoles with matching minis in shades of bubble-gum pink and peppermint established a direct line to Gen Z. But Sui is dressing women of many generations and inclinations. Take the lurex tweed jackets, houndstooth prints and argyle vests she delivered down the runway (albeit in high-vis hues), layered over matching 60s-style mod skirts or pared back with wide-legged jeans. These are clothes, Sui proposes, to comfortably move about life in—be it for a day at the office or a night on the dance floor.
As per the mood today, the designer recognises that femininity cannot be diluted or confined to one genre, decade or dimension. In this collection, that awareness came to life in clever juxtapositions of hard and soft, form and fluidity, nostalgia and an in-tune awareness of our sartorial demands now. Faux leather metallic jackets hugged romantic, ruffled blouses while argyle sweaters were layered underneath camouflage-printed parkas, or over sheer long sleeves imprinted with tattoos. The designer’s fusing of opposites continued underfoot, each outfit alternatively paired with cowboy boots or pointed Mary Janes that clearly articulated Sui’s messaging: fashion should be fun, and where possible, fuss-free.
That sentiment gave her tailored, workwear-style pieces in the collection a sense of ease. At a moment of global shift, where many are working from home, on the one hand, and immersing themselves in live culture and music once more, we need clothing that is versatile and optimistic to weather a changing world. Sui’s collection offers an uncompromising example; here are clothes that can do both.
