Australian Accessories brand Anna Design is emerging into the limelight five years on from its creation. But there’s a hell of a lot more fashion history behind its founder Anna Hookway, as Erin O’Loughlin discovers.
Sometimes life can take you on a whirlwind tour only to land you somewhere suspiciously close to where you started. So it has been for Anna Hookway.
The founder and designer of five-year-old boutique accessories label Anna Design, Hookway’s entrance into the world of accessories began long before she could deftly wield a pair of jewellery pliers. As the granddaughter of Oroton founder Boyd Lane, Hookway grew up in an Australian family renowned for producing cult evening bags, including Oroton’s famed mesh silver and gold creations.
Her parents, Robert and Carole Lane, were very much part of the Oroton business and would take leave for international buying trips.
“Mum and dad used to travel a lot and my grandmother used to look after us,” Hookway recounts. “They travelled a lot to Italy where mum would hand-pick bags and then choose leather to make the bags.”
Hookway’s memories of Boyd himself are somewhat scant, hindered by his early death at age 63. Her few memories of him draw on sensory impressions of his Palm Beach home and penchant for curried sausages.
Yet the family-owned fashion business still left a firm imprint on this middle child.
“My mum would always bring me back the newest and grooviest clothes from her travels, which I think gave me a taste for fashion,” she recalls. Of the industry itself, Hookway held no illusions.
“I learned that it is hard work!”
Fast forward a few decades and a thousand stories have unfolded. Oroton is now a publicly listed company and has been for 23 years. Only one member of the Lane family – Hookway’s elder brother Ross – remains on the Oroton Group board of directors. As a combined group, Anna Hookway, her two brothers and their father currently own just under 30 per cent of the Oroton Group business.
Hookway herself never spent much time working for the luxury label. Instead, after a brief stint in the Oroton marketing department, her post-school years saw her meander through stints in publishing, graphic arts and interior design before she cut her teeth in business with the launch of her own catering enterprise. The venture lasted six years before Hookway wound things down to care for her burgeoning family.
It turned out, however, that caring for her four daughters could not dim Hookway’s creeping desire to get her hands stuck into another artistic pursuit.
“Having been a part of the fashion industry but not on a specifically design level, I was busting to express myself creatively,” Hookway says.
She turned her eye to jewellery, constructing pieces for family and friends. As Hookway explains it, the pursuit was deeply rewarding.
“It is a wonderful thing to be able to design items for people that you know and love because the pieces are made with them in mind and truly represent those people,” she says. “Designing jewellery for my family and friends was also an excellent way to test the water and see where my designs would fit within the jewellery market.”
Hookway confesses she became more and more “obsessed” with making jewellery as time marched on and soon she found herself hosting jewellery parties in homes across Sydney.
“The response I received from designing jewellery for my family and friends was very positive, which motivated me to think bigger picture.”
In 2008 Hookway committed to taking her designs to the masses and opened her first store at Myahgah Mews in Mosman, Sydney. The decision to venture into retail – in a tiny space notwithstanding – rather than wholesale was motivated by very specific concerns.
“When I first started Anna Design I promised myself I would remain fully immersed in all aspects of its progression,” Hookway recalls. “Having my own retail store enables me to gauge the response of my customers to particular designs and evolve accordingly. Having worked in large fashion companies I craved the intimacy that comes with boutique retail.”
Hookway stayed in the space for 18 months and built up a “small following”. She began to discern what kinds of pieces customers were craving. Today, Hookway nominates her sterling silver bracelets as her label’s most enduringly popular item. In October 2009, with her original shop space no longer available, Hookway took the next leap.
“I decided to make the big move and invest some money and open a big one-of-a-kind shop,” she says.
The new space is also in Mosman and just happens to be nestled alongside an Oroton store. Also undertaken at much the same time was the “big step” of launching the Anna Design online store.
“The reality is that we needed to have a strong online presence in order to be competitive,” she says. “Anna Design online is a great representation of the brand and the creative ways in which messages can be communicated online are really exciting for me. Our reach is much larger and the image of the company can still be monitored to ensure that it is always representative of how I see the brand.”
If two store launches weren’t enough, Hookway this year threw herself into the deep end that is Rosemount Australian Fashion Week (RAFW). From May 3 to 7, Anna Design exhibited in RAFW’s Emerge section and also hit the catwalk as part of the Little Joe Woman show staged by designer Gail Elliot. The opportunities to participate in the latter came about thanks to a fortuitous connection.
“I was lucky enough to be suggested to Gail by an associate and the partnership has proven to be an excellent one,” Hookway says. “The jewellery was a perfect match for the beautiful, whimsical, natural pieces created by Gail. Seeing my jewellery on the runway was a very proud moment for me and a memory I will always treasure.”
The RAFW pitch was not just an attempt to catch the eye of the media. It was also geared to drive Anna Design’s “natural progression” into the world of wholesaling.
“It’s more about quality over quantity for us at this stage,” she says. “We’re targeting high end retailers that are a strong fit for the Anna Design brand.”
While Hookway says she is yet to secure any stockists, there are some “in the pipeline” in the wake of RAFW. They will have access to selected pieces from Anna Design’s winter 2010 collection, inspired by Hookway’s recent trip to Mexico.
“I was overwhelmed by the vivid colours of the countryside and the earthy, chaotic designs of villages that are mysteriously charming.
“In Mexico more is definitely more, and I think that elements of my jewellery creations reflect this. Much of the range is about layers of golds and silvers matched with vibrant colour combinations that are truly reflective of the exotic yet rustic nature of Mexico.”
The collection comprises rings, earrings, necklaces, bracelets and cuffs and features turquoise, coral, agate, pearls and Swarovski crystals in addition to sterling silver and gold. Hookway sources her materials from her travels and price points for the current collection range from $45 to $1500.
Today, Hookway employs five women to oversee the shop floor, online store and to assist with the construction of Anna Design pieces. She can see additional growth opportunities ahead.
“My next big step is to open a new store branching out into the eastern suburbs [of Sydney]. I would absolutely love to be able to establish myself on the other side of the bridge. The online store is going really well which makes me confident that the business is ready for another big step.”
It all sounds like lots of work, but Hookway insists she knew what she was getting herself into when she founded the label in 2005.
“I saw how a business runs from my very early years and have always had so much support from my family for Anna Design. It can be hard work and long hours in the shop but it really is a labour of love – I find it hard to complain.”
The plan for Hookway is to continue with the label for as long as it brings joy to her life.
“[There’s] still a very long way to go. I take my hat off to anyone who can make it in the fashion world as it is hugely competitive and hard work.”