Chatting with Anna Molinari
By Ella Edwards, photo by Ashley Thompson ,
Anna Molinari is a part of a new era of the fashion industry. As the need for sustainability grows daily, Molinari and her innovative ideas demonstrate that sustainability has and should have a place in the fashion industry. Her recent collection received massive attention, the comments flooded with praise over her unconventional and innovative designs. To an audience of over 150,000 on TikTok, Molinari shares the creative process behind her designs while simultaneously making her followers think not only about the actual styling of the clothes they wear but the impact they are leaving on the earth.
Ella: When and how did you get interested in fashion and design?
Anna: I have been picky about my outfits since the day I started being able to dress myself--I used to throw temper tantrums as a toddler over whatever my mom would pick out for me to wear that day. My interest in actual fashion design began at age 8 however, after watching a Project Runway marathon by myself in our sibling playroom. I was so inspired, I forced my little sister to stand there for hours while I hand stitched some of my mom's fabric onto her body in the shape of a tank top. From that point on, my passion for fashion design has only deepened, and I have never questioned that it is what I'm meant to do with my life.
Ella: What is something that you didn't understand about the fashion industry before becoming a part of it?
Anna: I didn't understand how different each branch of the fashion industry, and how each one typically worked. By this I mean luxury fashion vs. runway vs. fast fashion vs. corporate fashion vs. resale vs. handmade collection...the list goes on. There are so many facets to the fashion design industry, each one having its own way of doing things. This is something I am still trying to navigate as I build my own brand and collaborate with others. So much of this industry involves "learning by doing", and there will undoubtedly be a learning curve in whichever brand of it you're involved in.
Ella: What pushed you to get so involved in the climate justice movement?
Anna: Growing up I made clothes for myself for fun and convenience, but it felt sort of like a hobby. Once I made my first unconventional material piece out of recycled plastic straws, I realized that I could use my passion and skills for something beyond myself. That plastic straw dress won an award at a state-wide level, which means that my piece provoked a reaction within people--whether they resonated with it, disagreed with it, or believed in the point of it. From that point forward I understood that I could use fashion as a platform for things that I believed in or wanted to say to the world. Although climate change and environmental activism has been relevant for many years, it really only became a topic of conversation amongst younger generations in recent years. As I've learned more and more about the effects of the fashion industry, the industry that I've always dreamt of being a part of, on the environment, I have felt an increasing sense of duty to promote sustainability. If the fashion design industry is going to hurt the environment, then it is my duty as a designer and as a young woman to combat it.
Ella: What is something you wish people would understand about climate change?
Anna: I wish people understood the severity and urgency of climate change. A lot of people accept and know that climate change exists, but they don't understand what's happening in real-time. Another thing I wish people knew, and that I try to use my platforms to speak on, is how much waste we produce on a daily basis as individuals. The sheer amount of plastic waste we produce is completely startling and alarming. From plastic water bottles to the hundreds of thousands of microplastics you create each time you do a load of laundry, these pieces will likely end up in the ocean or a landfill. At the rate we are going it won't be long until we live in a legitimate dump.
Ella: Can you tell us about your most recent collection?
Anna: My most recent collection, "Unf**k the World", is a commentary on current events and climate change. The collection consisted of 90% recycled/upcycled materials--I collected trash from my day to day life, including hundreds of plastic bags, was donated fabrics/clothes, and purchased remnants from fabric stores that would have otherwise been thrown away. I also wanted to bust gender norms and stereotypes in this collection by making it genderless streetwear. Streetwear is typically male-targeted clothing, including shapeless silhouettes, boxy fits, and lacks femininity. Consequently, I created a collection that exposed the human body, whether male or female, and celebrated it in surprising silhouettes and unconventional styling. Lastly, I wanted to bring light to social injustice, which is also why the collection is called "unfuck the world". This includes the racism, hate crimes, homophobia, age gaps...etc. that continue to persist throughout the world.
Ella: How did you decide what materials to use?
Anna: Ever since I moved to NYC almost a year ago, I have been stashing as much plastic trash in my room as possible. I didn't know I'd be making a collection any time soon, but I knew I needed to make something meaningful out of it. I also hoard other random pieces like wrappers, fruit bag netting, bubble wrap, soda can tabs, balloons, receipts, metro cards, bread bag ties... everything. I don't usually look for any materials specifically, I just keep them and then trust that my creative process will tell me how to use them. I am also lucky enough to have many people offer to donate old clothes/fabrics to me. With the social media platforms I have built, supports have graciously reached out asking if I'd accept items that they want to get rid of. This gives me so much textile and fabric variation in my stash, that I am able to pick a specific material to use depending on how I feel that day. Although I make initial sketches with a vague idea of which materials I'd like to use, my pieces often change drastically throughout the design process depending on how the materials work with each other.
Ella: What has been the most frustrating part of your mission?
Anna: It has been very frustrating as I navigate the influencer world while trying to stay true to my beliefs, especially in sustainability. Not many people realize that for a sustainability activist/influencer like me, there is often an ethical dilemma that accompanies monetary opportunities from social media. For instance, a brand might reach out with a deal that would not only give my personal brand huge visibility and credibility, but also pay me a month's worth of rent. However, this brand may not be sustainable, and could therefore make me look like a hypocrite by taking the deal even though it would introduce MY sustainability platform/message to a wider audience. This is something that I am still trying to navigate and find very frustrating, since I do have to make money in order to survive, but these opportunities are usually the opposite of what I preach.
Ella: What does fashion mean to you?
Anna: To me, fashion is expression and communication. I personally use fashion to stand out amongst a crowd and differentiate myself from the billions of other people like me on this planet. I also believe that fashion is arguably one of the biggest platforms for communication. Considering that we have to wear clothes every day, and other people will undoubtedly see those clothes on you, I see it as a blatant opportunity to communicate. It can communicate tour mood, personality, or in my specific case, it could raise awareness of things you stand for.
Ella: Why do you think people care so much about what women wear and how they present themselves?
Anna: Society has historically loved to undermine women, their beliefs, their appearances...etc. The world was built upon corrupt ideals of man vs. woman and how they should act/be treated. As we can see, the damage of this has been done, and can never be fully undone. These antiquated ideas of what women wear and how they present themselves are a direct result of the foundation the world was built on. Society still loves to set unfair expectations and restrictions on women, certain races, ethnicities, religions, and sexualities. Although we can't rewrite history, we can certainly write our future and work hard to demolish the ideas of the past.
Ella: What is next for you?
Anna: I am not completely sure what is next for me, but I am absolutely loving where my path has been taking me. I hope to relaunch my sustainable streetwear brand, Instinct Brand, with an online shop, making my handmade pieces accessible. Although I cannot physically make enough recycled clothes to change the fashion industry, I hope that my pieces can continue to spread their sustainability message and educate people on the harms of the fashion industry on the environment. Although one single plastic corset that I make won't save the turtles, it can potentially inspire hundreds of thousands of people to start using a reusable bag and reject the use of plastic bags. While I grow Instinct Brand, I hope to simultaneously continue my work as a sustainability activist and influencer. I believe that I can reach broader audiences through social media influencing, and I truly enjoy the connections I make through doing this. I would also like to use my platforms to start fundraising for organizations that help to clean the ocean and aid the environment.
For centuries fashion has been used to make a statement. As Gen-Z designer Anna Molinari continues to share her creativity through her platform, she demonstrates that she really can help the world with "trash and random scraps of fabric". By choosing to reinvent the way clothes are made, Molinari gives the long-honored tradition a new and out-of-the-box approach, showing fashion truly can speak louder than words.
