The World of Anna Sui

The World of Anna Sui made history when it opened at London's Fashion and Textile Museum on 26 May 2017, running through 1 October of that year. It was Anna Sui's first major retrospective and the UK's first-ever retrospective of an American fashion designer. The exhibition was curated by Dennis Nothdruft for the Fashion and Textile Museum. It featured over 100 looks from Sui's archive, spanning her career from 1981 to 2017, covering a multitude of styles and trends, each telling a story. Organised around 12 archetypes that capture the Sui aesthetic, the exhibition gave insights into her creative process, allowing viewers to step inside her imagination and watch it unfold. Anna Sui reinvented pop-culture fashion with her signature rock-and-roll romantic label in the 1990s, and unlike other popular American designers, she has always been driven by telling stories head-to-toe — about the worlds of cowgirls, grunge girls, hippie chicks, Mods, pirate rock stars, Pre-Raphaelite maidens, and surfer nomads. The exhibition provided not only a fascinating guide to the history of American pop culture, but also a powerful inside look into the creative process and unique worldview of this iconic New York designer. The show was displayed in rooms outfitted like her boutiques, with Victorian furniture, purple walls, papier-mâché dolly heads, rock 'n' roll posters, and red floors — an immersive environment that perfectly captured the maximalist spirit of her brand. After its London debut, the exhibition went on to travel internationally, including stops in Tokyo and New York.