Well before fashion s current love of groupie chic and punk revival took hold, rock n roll was Anna Sui s chief source of inspiration. Each Sui collection reveals what s been in her CD player, and for Fall she clearly had Cream, T. Rex and Sergeant Pepper–era Beatles in heavy rotation. The result was a groovy, hippie show that wouldn t have been out of place at Woodstock—although it looked just fine on Naomi Campbell, Carolyn Murphy and all the other top models who regularly walk Sui s show.
On the bill were chiffon baby-doll tops with vivid Indian prints, appliquéd denim skirts, studded boot-cut cords, open-work crocheted tops and dresses, and wool separates embroidered with folky cross-stitch. Sui worked mostly in dark hues, with occasional forays into historically appropriate colors like purple, olive green and peacock blue. Greatest hits included a series of pretty, sheer floral-print dresses and two great embroidered Mongolian lamb-trimmed coats that screamed "light my fire."
Worn head-to-toe, this collection could be too trippy-hippie for the average customer. But a few pieces from Sui s 60s anthology could retune any wardrobe.
