ANNA KOSTUROVA COLLECTION aka hez and Anna
Our line of hand-crocheted swimwear and cover-ups is designed by Anna Kosturova in her Vancouver, Canada studio and produced in the Philippines by a family of generations of crochet artisans whom Anna has known personally for many years.
About the collection…
Anna’s designs inhabit the fantasies of sun-soaked glamour that outlast trends and celebrate fun.
Our line of hand-crocheted swimwear and cover-ups is designed by Anna Kosturova in her Vancouver, Canada studio and produced in the Philippines by a family of generations of crochet artisans whom Anna has known personally for many years.
About the collection…
Anna’s designs inhabit the fantasies of sun-soaked glamour that outlast trends and celebrate fun.
Each year her collection offers new interpretations of a variety of themes, including nautical styles; daintier, more girly styles and drop-dead goddess looks. The emphasis is always on color, shape and details, whether she is inventing elaborate new crochet stitches or embroidery, beadwork and appliqués. As a mechanical engineering graduate specializing in textiles, Anna loves pushing the boundaries of crochet and the challenge of recreating patterns and tex
tures found in the world around her.In addition to the crocheted swimwear that she began with, she has also expanded her range of cover-ups, with dance-inspired pieces in high voltage colors like fuchsia, teal, emerald and yellow, including the world’s first crocheted yoga pants.
Our Manufacturing Process…
The swimwear is made of 100% cotton yarn (thread), mercerized for added luster, elasticity and tensile strength, available in a huge variety of vibrant colors as well as basic neutrals. High quality cotton makes the swimwear durable and the color stable. The tops and front panel of the bottoms are always lined, which also helps to preserve each suit’s shape and stability. Anna has personally tested her designs in salt, fresh and chlorinated water, and although not intended for high-performance use, they are safe to swim in, the colors do not run and the pieces don’t lose their appeal, even after a season of regular wear.
To her design portfolio she also added two new lines:v a collection of resort wear in diaphanous silk and silk chiffon (also hand-beaded and sequined) focused around the idea of an elegant, modern hostess in a fluid Ginger Rogers silhouette
v a collection of crocheted swimwear and cover-ups for little girls; age-appropriate versions of some of our most popular and glamorous ladies’ styles
So far, the market is responding tremendously well, and there is growing interest and feedback from high-end retailers. Anna Kosturova/Lucid Design Inc. is pleased to maintain accounts with Barneys, Fred Segal, and Harvey Nichols, as well as swimwear giants and Victoria’s Secret. The same enthusiastic response has come from chic beach boutiques in resorts all over the world, and we can now add Australia to the list of countries where our unique hand-made swimwear and cover-ups will be available.
The collection is also receiving a great amount of interest from celebrities and the press – details can be found on our website, http://www.annakosturova.com/.
Ent, you're the best. A thousand thanks from both of us.
ReplyDeletePhotographed by Erich Saide for Anna Kosturova. Model: Serinda Swan
Hez, your swimwear is BEAUTIFUL! I especially love the one-piece.
ReplyDeleteG.G.
Thanks GG! But I'm not the designer -- the credit goes to my friend Anna, who is also a fan of this blog. I do the PR and come up with names for many of the bikinis.
ReplyDelete(And the next time Ent wants to go to Mexico, I have something cute to wear every day!)
Look for us on newsstands in that VERY Illustrious Special Issue of a certain magazine coming out in the next two weeks. (Can you figure it out from the hints there?)
Those swimsuits are the hotness.
ReplyDeleteWow, Hez, those are fabulous!!
ReplyDelete100% cotton, are they pre-shrunk?
They're lined, so shrinkage is minimal. And the mercerized cotton is far superior to just regular crochet thread.
ReplyDeleteTara Reid has been wearing her sequined one for a year now. (Hey, Tara... we've got some really cute cover-ups too!)
It's hard to tell but that one piece has little gold sequins hand-sewn up and down the front bit.
ReplyDeleteAnd can I get a "hell, yeah" for how AWESOME my town looks in these pics?
Van City represent!!!
Hez, can't you send Tara a cover-up and write it off as a public service???
ReplyDeleteThose photos of Tara (and Mariah, in the same style but another colour) were the start of some really awesome press for us, so we're grateful to her for loving hot bikinis (and despite her body's ups and downs, the bikini itself has always been unquestionably hot).
ReplyDeleteThe press page on our website has a lot of major hotties in our stuff, including Rebecca Romijn, Carolyn Murphy, Elle MacPherson and Katherine Heigl.
I wish I could take credit for all of this, but they (and the magazine stylists) find it all on their own. More to come... the next 6 weeks are going to be huge for us, in ways I can't really talk about yet.
Our website hasn't got everything up yet, so if anybody does want to get a look at some of the new stuff, like the silks and the kids' stuff, drop a line to info@annakosturova.com and we'll hook you up.
Heartfelt thanks again to the man of the hour, Ent, for making good on his promise and making Fanplug Friday a reality.
One of the many reasons I heart this blog like no other... while he may have started out wanting to vent about the insanity of his life, it's become patently obvious the author of this one is in it for us, his readers, not his ability to get access to the celebrities and their world.
People love that shit, and I am one of those people.
I am but a spaniel at thy gate, sir.
Hez, it's also patently obvious that the author of this blog is decent, 'real people', the Ann and Molly post revealed an awful lot about the sort of person he is.
ReplyDeleteSome people don't forget who they are. It's rare, but it happens ;) Mother EL did one helluva good job.
I am, of course, still kicking myself for either not being at my place when EL came by with his friends, or not recognizing them if I was there. But, on second thought, I'm glad that anonymous strangers can come in and have a good experience, even without the star-struck tabloid-whore owner fawning over them ;)
Thanks, EL. I hope you tried the ribs ;)
WOW! Hez,
ReplyDeleteThose bathing suits are gorgeous.
My treat for when I lose the baby weight is to def buy one. Thanks. Putting the site on my fav. until I am ready to buy.
Your suits are great but your website is a little tacky, change those models.
ReplyDeleteOh, to look that good!
ReplyDeleteHmmph! Tacky, my eye.
ReplyDelete(Picks up chair and moves closer to friends)
Oh Hez, those suits are absolutely stunning. My days of wearing one are far gone but my daughter would look quite lovely in one. And Anna, how gorgeous is she? WOW
ReplyDeleteDrcocks, Anna would be flattered, but the stunner you are seeing in these shots is a model named Serinda Swan.
ReplyDelete