Meet Anna Schuster, Redress Design Award 2019 finalist

Ideas of collaboration and connection sit at the heart of Anna Schuster’s thoughtful collection for the Redress Design Award 2019. “‘Anna meets X’ goes beyond trends and aesthetics and focuses on the humans and materials that surround me as a designer,” she explains. “Each outfit is inspired by another discipline - such as watchmaking, crochet and screen-printing - to look beyond mass production techniques.” This outward focus is characteristic of Anna’s work. “I am interested in traditional craftsmanship and also how technology can improve our work process. I love developing interdisciplinary collaborations with the aim of re-using resources and discovering textile techniques and innovative materials.” Dead-stock, leftover fabrics and yarns and even stained, damaged materials influenced the pattern cutting and colour ways of her collection.

“Instead of trend analysis, the first step was materials sourcing,” Anna says. “This allowed me to adapt the silhouettes according to zero-waste principles.” The designer has an MA in Fashion Futures from London College of Fashion and is currently working as a Menswear Concept Design Assistant at Hugo Boss. Anna’s aim is to create sophisticated wardrobe essentials that can be worn by both men and women, exchanged with friends and family or resold. Patterns are straightforward, allowing them to be constructed again and again from whatever fabric waste is available. “Fashion has clearly lost its value,” says Anna. “The fashion industry needs to stop overwhelming people with garments. My aim is to bring back an appreciation for crafts and materials into everyday fashion. I want to prove that fashion and nature can work together. We are taking too much from the planet and I want to give back to nature through design thinking and creativity. To act sustainably is not a limitation; it’s an opportunity for innovation.”

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