This is Gilda. She is a singer-songwriter studying music at Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee. I am good friends with her parents who live around the corner and have known her since she was a toddler. Home for the holidays, I invited her over to pick out a few items from my Anna Huling Vintage Collection yesterday, because that's what my wife would have done. She made the bold choice of this sheer satin dress and, just as Anna would have recommended, went with black lingerie to "pop" things into sexiness. She's wearing her grandmother's Chanel pumps...Rockin' the New Year. My son, who shares his mom's fashion sense, wants to revive the line and has offered to buy out the collection to prevent further hemorrhaging of garments such as this timeless classic.

Anna Huling at Watts Towers

Hand-Painted Fan by Anna Huling.

 

An eye-catching fan is indispensable at all times, at home and beyond. To deprive an Andalusian woman of hers would be like cutting out her tongue, although the fan is superior at transmitting thoughts over distance. A rapid, tremulous agitation, coupled with significant movement of the head, both recognizes and uplifts a friend, even from the far end of a sidewalk. A slow and formal inclining gesture dismisses with indifference and freezes the blood in one’s veins. At times it hides the giggle or murmur; other times concentrating the smile in the sparkling eyes shining above its lacy edge. An affectionate rap reclaims the distracted’s attention; a wave lures the distant object closer. A determined twist between the fingers signals doubt or anxiety; the rapid opening and closing reveals joy and anticipation. In perfect harmony with the Andaluza’s expressive face, the fan is a magic wand, the power of which is easier to feel than to explain. 

                                       Jose Maria Blanco White, “Letters from Spain”

 "I've wanted to do this my whole life..." 

Velvet turnout top and stretch pants by Anna Huling. "Urb" magazine.

From the 5 Footaz video "The Heist."

 

 

Anna's Artistry 

 Anna Huling...Glitter top on the cover of "Sportswear International" 

Anna Huling...Satin Shift in "W"

 

 

 

First, she would draw it. 

Then she would make it. 

                                        Then she would shoot it. 

On Poshmark 

After being a clothing shop-lifter, clothing shopper, shop-girl, shop-manager, and corporate manager for a chain of clothing shops, Anna finally got a chance to design for Joe Dahan of Joe's Jeans. She was over the moon and her early efforts to help develop his "Hippie" line demonstrate the young designer's approach to fashion as art. She was crushed when she lost the job.

Here, her good friend John Cherpas, of "Fever" and "Josephine Loka" fame, is wearing something produced from one of her sketches (early 90s).

 

 Camel Cotton/Lycra Pants and Shirt by Anna Huling

Anna Huling...Contact Sheet from Cowgirl Shoot.