Anna Sui

For people who love a whimsical, characterful scent and a beautiful bottle, yes. Fragrance is a core category for the Anna Sui brand, sitting alongside her fashion, cosmetics, and accessories lines, and the collectible bottles are part of the appeal. The common caveat from wearers is longevity, so if you want all-day projection, reach for a higher concentration rather than a light eau de toilette.

Romantic, eclectic, and rooted in music and youth culture. Anna Sui distanced herself from the traditional fashion houses and explored the grunge scene alongside designers like Marc Jacobs, Todd Oldham, and Daryl K, and her early ambition was literally to dress rock stars and the people at their concerts. That rock-and-roll, vintage-layered spirit is still the through-line across her clothing and beauty.

They share a playful, colorful, whimsical sensibility and are often mentioned in the same breath at New York Fashion Week. The lineage runs deeper than coincidence: Anna Sui has cited Betsey Johnson as one of her design influences. Where Johnson leans flirty and over-the-top, Sui's signature is a vintage-meets-rock eclecticism, so pick by which kind of fun you want.

It depends on the budget and mood. Her brand spans fashion, footwear, cosmetics, fragrances, eyewear, jewelry, accessories, and home goods, so the fragrances and cosmetics are the most accessible entry points into the world, while the ready-to-wear is where the rock-bohemian vision is fullest. A signature fragrance is the classic first purchase.

Anna Sui, born August 4, 1955, is an American fashion designer whose brand reaches across several fashion lines plus footwear, cosmetics, fragrances, eyewear, jewelry, accessories, and home goods. She's a second-generation Chinese-American born in Detroit, Michigan, who knew by the age of four that she wanted to be a fashion designer. She remains the creative force behind her eponymous label.

Very much respected. She was named one of the "Top 5 Fashion Icons of the Decade" for 2000–2010, and in 2009 she earned the Geoffrey Beene Lifetime Achievement Award from the Council of Fashion Designers of America, joining the ranks of Yves Saint Laurent, Giorgio Armani, Ralph Lauren, and Diane von Furstenberg. That's industry recognition at the highest level.

She moved to New York and attended Parsons, then in 1975 was hired by Erica Elias' juniors label Charlie's Girls, learning by designing sportswear and styling photo shoots for her friend and former Parsons classmate Steven Meisel. She designed out of her apartment for years before her first runway show, which took place in New York in 1991.

Paris, 1991. Driving with Steven Meisel to see the Jean Paul Gaultier show, they stopped to pick up Madonna, and she surprised Sui by wearing Sui's clothing to the event, later wearing the same outfit for a Meisel Vogue shoot. Her first runway show followed that same year back in New York, marking her real arrival on the fashion scene.

Because she was genuinely part of it. In an era of power-dressing dominated by houses like Chanel and Versace, Sui was one of the few designers who turned toward the grunge scene, working in that world alongside Marc Jacobs, Daryl K, and Todd Oldham. Her stated motivation was to dress rock stars and their fans, which is why the music-driven edge feels authentic rather than borrowed.

American. She is a second-generation Chinese-American, born in Detroit, Michigan, in 1955. Her family history is remarkable: she is a matrilineal descendant of the prominent Fang clan of Tongcheng and an 18th-generation descendant of the poet Fang Bao, but her own design career is firmly rooted in New York and American fashion.

Yes, with deep roots in music and modeling. Madonna famously wore Sui's clothing to a 1991 Paris show, and in that period supermodel friends including Naomi Campbell, Christy Turlington, and Linda Evangelista rallied around and encouraged her. Closer to home, her niece is the actress and model Chase Sui Wonders.

Treat them like the collectible objects they are. Store fragrances out of direct sunlight and heat to protect both the juice and the decorative bottles the brand is known for. For the vintage-leaning, embellished clothing, gentle hand-washing or dry cleaning preserves trims and prints, which is where so much of the label's character lives.