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Anna Sui and the Fashion and Textile Museum collaborate with Creative Direction for Fashion

Anna Sui x Creative Direction for Fashion
Anna Sui x Creative Direction for Fashion
Anna Sui x Creative Direction for Fashion
Written by
Josh De Souza Crook Published date
17 October 2017

American fashion designer Anna Sui took her design empire to London’s Fashion and Textile Museum in one of the most anticipated fashion retrospectives of recent years, ‘The World of Anna Sui.‘ To celebrate, the museum collaborated with BA (Hons) Creative Direction for Fashion students who were challenged to redesign the museum’s foyer, and create Instagram content and longer form video – all to enthuse a young audience about Anna’s work and legacy spanning three decades.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BZo94u4B15M/?taken-by=annasui

The Fashion and Textiles Museum was extremely impressed with the student work produced and numerous videos and animations were selected to be shared across their social media channels over the summer. The selected work was by students Nina Aragon, Calvin Cho, Chloe Hughes, Daniel Chan, Moeka Yamamoto, Sadie Abergel, Ruby Reed, Stephanie Cheong, Marcus Watkinson, Rakshita Arvind, Catalina Ongkowibowo, Ashley Yang, and Jariel Tan.

Lecturer Kim Coleman who initiated the project approached the museum after a successful student project she set up with the Victoria & Albert Museum last academic year. She spoke to us recently:

The brief was a chance for students to address the Fashion and Textile Museum’s live communication challenge, which was to engage a prospective 18 to 24 year-old museum audience with this Anna Sui retrospective – a group generally less familiar with the designer’s work. Our students translated the World of Anna Sui into exciting communication design that appealed to their peers and we were delighted the museum employed so much of the work on social media and other online contexts

Watch a playlist of student work from FTM’s YouTube account

Chloe Hughes’ addressed the brief through a series of fun, punchy and irreverent animations.

Catalina Onkowibowo’s striking Instagram animations and concept design for the museum foyer were chosen by the museum. We spoke to Catalina about the project.

What did you enjoy about the challenge?

The challenge allowed me to step into the industry…and gain insight into the process behind promoting a major fashion exhibition.

What did you learn?

I learned to take client feedback and to be open to changing my work to fit their expectations – without losing my aesthetic. This project allowed me to both experience first hand how clients work on an actual project, and to understand the processes involved.

What was the most interesting aspect of this project?

Working with a live brief was exciting because I was able to engage with a real client and understand their needs.

Stephanie Cheong’s Instagram animations were also selected by the museum. Taking inspiration from Anna’s classic Dolly Head design, Stephanie’s  animations were slick, funny and kitsch.

Rakshita Arvind was also selected for her ‘fascinating interpretation’ of Anna Sui’s work into a series of enchanting videos in pink hues.

We also spoke to student Calvin Cho, whose work was also featured in the collaboration. 

What did you enjoy about the challenge?

One thing I enjoyed about the challenge was that we explored different kinds of communication media

What did you learn?

A lot was needed to be done to respond well to this brief, so I also learned the importance of good time management – it’s crucial!

What was the most interesting aspect of this project?

The most interesting about this project was that it didn’t feel like a school project, it felt more like a challenge I would like to address when I enter the world of work.

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