In 1981, I had the idea of doing my own clothing line, but I didn't really know how to go about it. I had some friends who made jewelry and were going to try to sell it at a trade show. I made five pieces of clothing and they asked me to share a booth with them. To my delight, I got orders from Macy's and Bloomingdale's (and was featured in an advertisement in The New York Times)! At the time, I was working for a company called Glenora. The man who owned the company saw the ad and said: “Is this girl on our payroll? Why does she have an ad in the Times?” He said if I didn't stop, he would fire me. So I got fired.
That's how I started my business. I had a loft-like apartment, so I worked out of a little corner of my living room…but it eventually took over. One morning I woke up, opened the door from my bedroom. There were boxes everywhere, racks everywhere…and I thought, "Okay, I have to find a space. I can't live like this anymore." So I rented half a floor on 39th Street and moved my office there.
Anna Sui website
