Missenscène

You probably know Anna Lynett as this season’s humble hottie on Project Runway.

Yes, she is adorable–just like her designs. But, she is also incredibly intelligent and very well-spoken. Although she often appears as the quiet one on Season 7′s Project Runway, she has a lot to say about Art, Fashion, and Downtown Los Angeles.

With a BFA in Printmaking from prestigious RISD, Anna didn’t think about Fashion Design until recently. See Tim Gunn’s initial reaction to her work at a casting session for Project Runway here.

How did the 23 year-old, self-taught fashion designer end up in Downtown Los Angeles?  Thanks to our recent interview, I was able to get to know another side of Anna and find out some of her favorite local hot spots. CK: Did you always know you wanted to be in Fashion? You have a degree in printmaking, how did you get from printmaking to fashion? Are there any similarities?

AL: Where other people see my work as compartmentalized by material, I see continuity across media. My prints are about light relationships, subtlety in form and opaque material combinations. I would describe the garments the same way. Whereas references in the works on paper are to landscape, abstracted movement and ancient and vintage forms, the clothing references uniforms, and the kind of clothing I imagine in classic American literature.  Present in both is an attention to subtlety and a love of archaic formation. I arrived at printing and garment design out of necessity.

CK: Do you combine printmaking/art with fashion?

AL: I am working on a project that translates envelope liner patterns to fabric through screen print, a few of the initial garments are on my website.  [My boyfriend] Brian and I are working on a luggage line that references air traffic in LA. We have been known to spend time on our roof watching all the helicopters and planes that rule the LA skies and have channeled our obsession with that kind of surveillance into a surface pattern for tote bags. Being able to control the surface treatment of fabrics is just another level of specificity that helps my work.

CK: How would you describe your personal style? Is it the same style as your designs?

AL: Because I began making clothes out of a desire to complete my personal wardrobe with pieces that are unique, there is a lot of overlap. For this reason, I have to be careful to maintain a critical distance from the garments I make. I think designing clothes that please my taste should be a starting point, not an ending point. In a way, raw design decisions that are based on taste preferences are necessary for the work to have a certain purity.

CK: What are your favorite current trends?

AL: I like the recent movement toward androgynous clothing. It’s so sexy.

CK: What inspires you?

AL: I’m inspired by contemporary art, I suppose that was my first creative love. I imagined my employment in LA would take the form of Gallery Assistant, but I’m so glad I get the opportunity to work with my hands every day at Gemini G.E.L. There is something very powerful to me about taking disparate raw materials and being the catalyst for their combination into a print or dress. It is power to fill a void in the world where I think a drawing or garment should be.

CK: Why did you move to Los Angeles?

AL: A year and a half ago my boyfriend, Brian, and I were graduating from RISD and growing tired of the East Coast. We are both from the Midwest but we packed a VW Golf with everything we owned and drove right past it. We didn’t stop until we arrived in LA!

CK: Why did you move to the Arts District in DTLA, particularly?

AL: One of Brian’s friends from school was living in a big warehouse on 6th street and offered to let us live with him. We arrived to find our “room” was a 10 x 10 foot platform on wheels in the middle of a huge space. The price was right and seemed central to various job opportunities we were seeking, plus a good portion of the loft was a shop for Brian to work on furniture pieces. The first thing I sewed in LA was a set of curtain walls for our cabana bedroom.

AL: We end up at Wurstkuche embarrassingly often. We are regulars at the Church and State bar, as well, and at 7 Grand. And when my Japanese half craves sushi, we make our way to Hama sushi on 2nd street. I could be spotted at the American Apparel Factory Store and love an afternoon at MOCA or the Central Library. Oh I just discovered The Last Bookstore in LA and will frequent their shelves, and Brian is an architect so we’ve been known to sneak into Sci Arc and reminisce about our days in the academic sphere. I was in love with Apartment 3 when it was on Industrial Street. Kristin Knauff, owner, was the one who encouraged me to apply for Project Runway.

CK: On Project Runway, you spent time in NYC, what are the similarities and/or differences between  NYC and LA?

AL:  There is definitely a difference in pace. Something about the speed of NY is really exciting and was great for the show, but I think that same intensity can be overwhelming. LA provides the opportunity to have an ambitious lifestyle but the city doesn’t bombard you when you walk out the door.

CK: Did you get any sleep on Project Runway? What did you guys do on your off time?

AL: There wasn’t a lot of time for anything besides work!

CK:What did you learn from Project Runway?

AL: Well, I learned how to be tough in the face of all levels of scrutiny and how to adapt to kinds of stress that I’d never dreamed of. In my daily life there are no cameras waking me up at the crack of dawn or stern critics exposing all my “loose ends”. Project Runway reinforced for me that most experiences are best approached with a sense of humor. And that good and bad garments come into and out of this world but no single piece trumps the importance of the ability to continue moving forward.

CK: What advice do you have for young people who want to get into fashion?

AL: The act of making is the most indispensable way to learn and there are lessons in all those mistakes if you are humble enough to listen and watch carefully. I think many artists and designers get hung up on the function of work, like, why would I make this dress, who is it for? That series of questions helps us form our creative identity but can be the reason that creation stops altogether, and that’s a sad thing. The act of making, and perpetuating that ritual, is supremely important.

Be sure and check out Anna’s personal website here for more info and photos.  Special thanks to  Anna for providing all photos, and sketches.  I’d also like to thank Megan Tantillo at Lifetime.

*Photo Credit (Anna downtown)  Brian Hildebrand