Anna Festa | Collaborations | Curvy Girl Interviews | Fashion | Plus Size Dresses | Plus Size Fashion Brands | Plus Size Pants | Plus Size Shopping | What I Wore
{Feature} AnnaFesta Curvy Collaborations: Designer Chat + Rockin the HiLo Ribbon Dress
Back in April I shared the Denver Post article I was interviewed for that featured Anne Fanganello’s AnnaFesta brand and I am now excited to share a fab piece from her collection that you can get a sweet discount on (deets below) AND my “Chatting Curvatude” session aka interview grilling of Anne.
First up, AnnaFesta has started a new feature called the AnnaFesta Curvy Collaborations and I am geeked to be the first blogger featured.
First up, AnnaFesta has started a new feature called the AnnaFesta Curvy Collaborations and I am geeked to be the first blogger featured.
I am rockin’ the AnnaFesta HiLo Ribbon Dress.
I chose it in this awesome teal and chocolate cheetah print (surprise…NOT!) and it comes in a several sweet colors like tangerine and eggplant. I love the playful ribbons and the nice bit of leg that gets showcased.
I also love that Anne has taken so much care in the quality of the fabric and the construction of the pieces. I was so pleased when I received the ones that she sent to me. They are so well made.
Click here to get the code to score 20% off the AnnaFesta HiLo Ribbon Dress in every color!!
<<<<>>>>>>
It’s been quite a while since my last “Chatting Curvatude” post & I am excited to start them back up with Anne. Read on to learn more about the woman behind AnnaFesta. I love her openness, honesty and her commitment to creating quality fashion for the curvy woman and I think that you will too!
Curvatude: Hello Anne!
Anne: Yay – I am here with you!!
Curvatude: LOL…Ok good. How are you?
Anne: I am well. Beautiful day here. How is your new home?
Curvatude: Great. Glad to hear it. And things are coming along. Thank you for asking. And thank you for taking the time to chat with me
Anne: No prob.
Curvatude: Now, after so many years working in NYC why did you decide to return to Denver?
Anne: I had spent so much time working in NYC and felt like I was missing out on other things in life. My brother had a daughter and I never took vacations. I only worked. Even though I loved my job I wanted to see how “the rest of the world” lived.
Curvatude: And do you feel that you have achieved that now?
Anne: Yes, my niece is now 12 and she is my best friend. When I moved here she was 6 and I had barely spend any time with her. I see my family here in Colorado on a regular basis. I also see the sun, the mountains and work in my garden and play tennis. After 20 years of working from 7AM – 2AM it is very refreshing!
Curvatude: Awesome. It’s amazing how slowing down can change our lives. I love NYC and it’s fast moving pace but I have also found it wearing at times.
Anne: I L.O.V.E.D!! Loved NYC. I was made for it. Fast paced, stress filled, always k-razy busy. The fact that I did it for that many years and loved every minute of it shows how much I loved living and working in the city. It was a very hard decision to move. I am not happier or in a better place – just in a very different happy place. I had to learn how to enjoy the calm of Colorado but now I cannot imagine going back to the rush of the city.
Curvatude: I totally understand that. And so with the calm of Colorado, we have the birth of AnnaFesta. How did that come about?
Anne: When I moved here I never intended on continuing in fashion. I had a closed minded attitude that there was no way that I would be able to have my career in fashion in Colorado. After doing fashion shows for Zac Posen and Nanette Lepore at NYC Fashion Week I thought that I would be an event planner/wedding planner here in Colorado. I did it for a few years and it was a great way to meet people since I was new in town.
I did a few boutique openings and a “plus-size” boutique asked me to do their grand opening party. During the process of opening the store the owner complained that there were no “cute printed cotton skirts” on the market. I said, “I can make some for you.” That was it! 3 months later I had a full line and was closing down the event planning business to run AnnaFesta full time. One skirt and I was done. I had my hands back in the business that I adore and love.
Curvatude: And how long ago was that?
Anne: April 2010.
Curvatude: Sweet! Happy belated anniversary and I know you have lots of new things in the works. How does your design process work?
Anne: After working with the “tall and skinny” customer at Zac and Nanette I was focused on getting a proper fit for almost 2 years. My focus is on the fit of the garment and the curvy body type. At first I simply chose pieces to make and test on customers. I decided to make 5 dresses, 5 jackets, 5 skirts, etc so that I could get my fit perfect.
Now that I have determined who my customer is and how she would like her clothing to fit I am not headed to a new idea on my designs. Fall 2013 is the first all around collection that I made to work within a true collection.
I am very focused on color and music. I sit down and crank up the tunes and work with fabric and color first. The design process starts with youth, music and color and the ideas are born.
Curvatude: I am incredibly influenced by music and color also but I am curious as to why “youth” is also a part of your design process.
Anne: Many years ago I was on a trip (my first vacation in seven years!) in Jamaica. My friend and I decided to go to one of the resorts to see what they were like. We happened to go on an evening when they had the kids talent show. We, of course, made fun of the whole event all night BUT there were four sets of little girls that did the same act. It was this crazy thing with schoolgirl looks – short plaid skirts and high socks. Brittney Spears had not hit my radar yet but I was bombarded!
I went back to NYC and said to Nanette – we have to make a short plaid schoolgirl skirt immediately! Ever since that experience I keep my eye on the youth. I believe fashion starts with unbridled enthusiasm without fear. Young “tweens” put out their ideas of art and fashion and new ideas are born. Look at the low crotch crazy pants on Justin Beiber these days. We think they are crazy and weird and will never catch on. Give it a few years and my conservative friends will be sporting that look. Kids on the street intrigue me with their ideas of what fashion means to them.
Curvatude: Ahh…ok. And I agree, street style definitely plays a huge part in fashion trends. Do you find working in “plus size” is more challenging than when you were working with “straight size” brands?
Anne: I do find the fit to be more challenging but it is more about the variety of body types that we have. From a size 2 – approx size 10 the body type does not vary as much. As we get to larger sizes there is more variety in the silhouette that we can wear. Some carry more in their bust, some carry more in their belly, etc.
I can have two size 18 women who cannot wear the same dress. The fit study has been very interesting to me and has made me focus in on the designs for certain body types. When fitting for size 2-12 designers (and I may as well say size 2-8 designers because it was rare for us to sell 10, 12 or 14’s) there was not as much variation in the bodies. Now, I design a dress for “the Apple shape” or “the Pear shape” or all around curvy.
Curvatude: Yes, this is the challenge that I speak to people about a lot when the conversation is why certain brands don’t make plus size clothes. I am and have been slowly working on designing a few pieces and that is always the thing that is foremost in my mind, how to honor the variety of our bodies the best way. I love seeing designers like yourself who are taking this to heart and really interested in doing it right
Anne: It is another reason that I have taken the term “plus size” out of my branding. I am about curvy bodies – whatever size. My brand goes down to size 4/6 for gals with larger than average bust or derriere. I have found that there is a customer out there that cannot shop 2-12 size brand since the clothes are too small and they cannot shop in the plus size brands since they are too big. My fit is very close to the body and sexy.
Just because we have a few curves does not mean we are trying to hide them. We are about flaunting the body and showing it off. There are very few items in my collection that do not skim close to the body. It is not a tight fit but a fit that is made to show off our curves. I also have a few tricks up my sleeve to create a slimmer look. I always strive with the thought “two inches taller and two inches narrower” as a goal of the illusion that I create. Every one of my pieces has something unusual to help to show off curves and yet make us look slimmer.
Curvatude: Having AnnaFesta pieces in my collection, thank you very much, I would have to say that they definitely are about showing off the curves. I am also so pleased with the quality of your work and honored that you asked me to be a part of your Curvy Collaborations.
Anne: I love that you are the first AnnaFesta Curvy Collaboration. I scouted the internet a lot to choose who I wanted to represent the brand initially. I believe that my market is young, hip, fashionable and a bit of a party girl. You fit the bill. I am very focused on Chicago and Atlanta as my first markets to get into. New York and Los Angelas, though they have always been on my radar as fashion capitals, are not fitting my bill as where my customers live, work and play.
I have had an interesting change of perspective designing in Colorado. I live in a VERY healthy state with lots of outdoor activities and less focus on work. There are many women here who play tennis or go hiking or rock climbing. I find that there is a place for the healthy woman who still has some “junk in the trunk”. When my customer finds me they come back again and again. My fit is not for everyone but the young, hip, sexy gals who have a little more curve to show off love it when they find me.
Curvatude: And I understand why. The pieces that I have, all have a really great, flattering fit.
Anne: Glad that you like them! I was wearing the Asymmetric Dress the other night thinking of you.
Curvatude: LOL…sweet! Now that you are a designer of your own brand, how has your relationship with fashion changed?
Anne: Wow – that is an interesting question. I have always worn the brand that I am working with. When at Zac Posen and Nanette Lepore I sported the brand and was proud to be a larger girl in the middle of a full team of size 2, 4, 6’s. I was always a 12/14 in those days. After a bout with breast cancer (2002) I had the pleasure of gaining 90 (yes 90!) lbs over the course of 6 years due to treatments. Wearing Zac posen at size 16 is unheard of.
The pieces that I owned would be sent out to the larger movie stars and he was able to expand into a larger size group for that period of time since I had a few gowns etc in my closet. They never quite fit and always had to be tailored. Now, my clothing fits well, looks good and is made for my curves. I get great joy out of wearing my clothes and my love of color is not defined by the clothing in stores. My mother once looked into my closet and said “how can you live in New York and not own one piece of black!”
I get to find gorgeous prints and fun colors to put together in ways that make me happy. My designs are fairly simple. I focus on making a body look beautiful without a lot of additional trims to “hype it up”. A simple well fitted cowl neck tee shirt is more outstanding to me then a tee shirt with a giant flower, lace trim, knots and drapes of fabric and a cherry on top. I focus on fit, color, print and fun. I like to say that I make happy clothes. My clothes make me happy.
Curvatude: Wow. First I am very happy that you are a breast cancer survivor. And I am with you on loving color and print and fun happy fashion. And I think you do black well too. My black dress from your collection is hot!
Anne: That Black Dress is one of my favs since I never could find a one shoulder dress that fit properly and comfortably. I always say that particular garment feels like you are in your pajamas yet makes you look Hot, hot, hot and sexy. On another note, I am very strict about my fabrics.
Fabrics must feel good and cannot have rough textures. All of my fabric choices are soft, supple and do not pill or look bad after just a couple of wears. My background gives me a foot in the door with high end fabric companies that make high quality goods.
Curvatude: Yes, that is definitely something that I noticed…the quality. Bravo. Now, to wrap this up. Complete the sentence: In a perfect fashion world…
Anne: Clothing would look good, feel good, inspire creativity and bring a smile to your face.
Curvatude: And finally…if you were a piece of fruit, what would you be?
Anne: That is easy – an apple. Bright red or granny apple green with a sweet juicy inside. Hard and crunchy with bright colors and a sweet juicy nature.
Curvatude: LOL…Love it! Thank you so much for taking the time to chat with me!
Isn’t she awesome?!
Make sure you check AnnaFesta out on facebook and twitter and don’t forget to click here to get the code to score 20% off the HiLo Ribbon Dress in every color!!
Chow!
Disclosure: AnnaFesta provided clothing to me as a part of the Curvy Collaborations. Learn more about my disclosure policy here.