Anna Bolina: The brand is inherently autobiographical because of how it started, reworking clothes for myself to wear. I couldn’t find anything to wear, so I began designing based on what I wanted to wear and how it fit my body. I started cutting up my clothes because I wanted to look sexy but also avant-garde.
In the early runway shows, this approach heavily influenced the styles and silhouettes. Over time, I’ve tried to expand, but my designs are still driven by my current favorite shapes. I tend to go through phases where I wear a few outfits in a particular silhouette for years. Right now, I’m drawn to oversized, baggy menswear and finding ways to transform it into something sexy. I love dressing a highly feminine woman in menswear, making it both flattering and seductive. On the other end of the spectrum, I’m also fascinated by entirely tight, form-fitting looks. These two extremes have been the foundation of my designs for a while.
Lately, I’ve become obsessed with traditional evening gowns and exploring ways to make them feel unconventional. I think many people experience moments when they want to turn heads and others when they prefer to be covered up and anonymous. But I believe you can still make a statement without revealing your body, that's why I push my designs to extremes, though never so far that they feel like costumes. What interests me about clothing is that getting dressed is inherently personal; it’s about deciding how to present yourself to the world.

AB: When I started I feel like there wasn’t so much happening in women’s wear that was interesting. There was a lot of men’s street wear I really liked but it never really worked with my body, it didn't make me feel feminine and sexy. I was interested in creating that.

AB:The audience has grown broader. I feel a lot more men have tuned into the brand. I definitely think there’s a common thread of people who wear Annabolina to go out or for a special event.
For girls, the tube dresses especially are a way to wear a sexy dress that has a bold message. That’s appealing to those who want more than just a tight dress but still want to look hot. It’s something you can wear practically while making a statement against that [practicality] adding a little edge and difference.

AB:Yeah, something that has a bold statement. There’s something that appeals to people, too, because the ethos of the brand is about individuality and rebellion against the culture right now, of style being copied and pasted from influencers. I open my TikTok and see girls posting videos explaining their outfits, and they all got the clothes from H&M, Amazon, Fashion Nova, etc. Young girls watch these and buy the exact same items from direct links. Even if the staple products of the brand are simple, the statement on them is about not conforming to this cycle of consumption.

AB: Probably not a lot since everyone loves these tiny purses these days. I could never leave the house without everything I might need.

AB: I’ve been using the same gigantic bag for 5 years. There are straight up layers of shit in there. But I’m sure there’s at least vape, credit cards, lipstick and maybe some illegal substances.

AB: How am I supposed to go out without ALL of my makeup and my hairbrush?

AB: Yes! I wanna do that, and shoes, just all the accessories and a huge bag that will last you years!

AB: This collection started because I became obsessed with going to this recycling center place in Gowanus where they have raw materials. I started collecting these materials like tiles you’d put down for flooring and spray painting boxes and boxes of tiles, and going once a week and the collection was in the end a lot of rubber, tubing, untraditional stuff that took hours and hours of hand sewing.
I wanted the collection to be more tailored. I was focusing on elegant gowns. We started [assembling] traditional mermaid gowns and using those patterns but because we were using materials that don't fall or drape we had to really make things fit and work. We did multiple fittings. Some of the looks were screwed on.

AB:Exactly, I wanted a lot of drama and length but edgy and different.

AB: My inspiration comes from my actual life, so yes, it is very connected to me. But not my past. I hate going backward, I always want to look forward.
Right now, living in Brooklyn, I’m still consumed by what’s around me. Piles of cement, discarded building materials stacked in heaps, and mountains of trash being pushed around by giant machines. I find it fascinating. For me, that’s my nature. It’s terrible, but it’s so raw. There aren't any pretty trees around. This giant trash pit is my nature right now.

AB:Yeah, I was especially inspired while driving back from the recycling center whenever I went to get materials for the last collection. I had to pass the dump where they smash all the trash into the most compact form possible. I found that so beautiful, like watching something dark that you can’t look away from. It inspired me every time I drove by.
Then I brought all the materials into the studio and asked my team to try making tailored gowns out of them. It was a huge challenge, but it was and still is my current fascination. And I liked pushing myself.

AB: I studied graphic design in college so it was natural for me to come up with these graphics and Sadie actually taught me how to screen print. I was making a lot of weird clothes like nails going through stripper heels and I was like okay I can't sell these so we started screen printing.
I was really surprised by how people are still interested and how long this has lasted. There’s something that I accidentally touched on that is very powerful.