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My appreciation of her craft has been years in the making (I have a dedicated
Pinterest board), and poking around on her site, I was intrigued to discover that the company has plunged into selling actual vintage clothing. They call it Anna's Vintage Closet - a collection supposedly curated by Sui herself and presented as a little side hustle for the label.
Yes, the vintage market is spicy hot but, surely, the company doesn't need to rely on frocks from other times and designers to keep its sales up? Not surprisingly, these rediscovered goodies are fairly expensive. A 70s summer dress that I would sell for around $90 is offered at almost three times as much.
The clothes are adorable, make no mistake, but...why? Vintage is everywhere already from Depop to Poshmark and the RealReal, and I fear that with high end fashion designers now getting into the "game", the industry could not possibly be more saturated!
How much of this is my resentment at the price inflation as a result of it being "curated" by Sui? A fair amount but, one could argue, shouldn't she be compensated in sharing her particular "eye" for vintage with us? After all, she is a great artist who worked for decades to hone her craft, taste, and even connections, I suppose.
And yet, it feels a bit... embarrassing; a paradox of something being "forced" while also coming across as an afterthought. Overall, I can't help but see it as a desperate move to keep up with the cool kids. Hapless.
I look to labels like Sui for their own creations and would prefer that designers, in general, stick to creating rather than curating clothes.
I can find vintage (or it finds me). I can't design or make clothing.
And she is soooo masterful!
(For what it's worth, that 70s denim dress above has been sitting on the site unsold for at least four months now.)
Email me your thoughts on this! If they are compelling, I will publish all sides of the argument in the next newsletter!
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