(A Good Thing) – An Interview with Frau Ana, Shanghai

For Ana, 28, going to funerals has always been a problem. Adorned in a slew of colors, the native German, does not own very many black garments. “Black makes people depressed, people who wear black feel sad inside.”  Meanwhile, I am sitting across from her wearing a form fitting long sleeved black jersey dress, black ballerina flats, black eyeliner, with my usual black hair. I start to fade away to my thought bubble counting and revisiting my closet of the immensely black wardrobe, of all the pieces I own and love to wear. The approximate number comes out to 48? No, 49. But I digress.

So…oh yes, just like her mother, Ana learned she was creative at an early age growing up in Xinte; a small traditional town in Germany housing 18,000 people, old Roman structures, big beautiful lakes, and conservatism. That didn’t stop Ana from discovering she was destined to be a crazy fashion designer at age 6, after dismissing her initial (programmed) thought of becoming a lawyer and painting the town bubble gum pop pink. hex #FF1493.

Two decades later she wakens daily in the aggressive city of Shanghai, China. For the past three years she has been slaving away, designing for another company. At long last, this September, she launched her own label featuring her ridiculously color-infused line of contemporary sportswear (ridiculous is a good thing). Now available at http://www.frau-ana.com, the new Frau-Ana line pays homage to the superfluous days of the 80′s with over-the-top neon colors, unisex stripes galore, and extra large Star accent pieces that even a blind person could catch from miles away (over-the-top is a good thing).

Frau-Ana additionals:

- She holds no real love for other designers, but appreciates Karl Lagerfield’s work

- Her best friend, Johannes Kuhn, is her muse.  He dresses, and dresses well, according to mood;  he wears his emotions AS his sleeves: .

(also, black is a good thing)