Anndra Neen's metal clutches are so curious and beautiful it's no wonder they've already become collector's items. "There's a man in Japan who has bought every cage clutch and uses them as tissue box holders!" designers Phoebe and Annette Stephens told me when I met them at their apartment last month. "We love the idea that they're wearable art."
The sisters were raised in Mexico City, where they produce the pieces at an artisinal workshop. While they're now based in New York, Mexico is still the brand's spiritual homeland, in part because it was home to the Stephens' grandmother, artist and designer Annette Nancarrow (more on her below). This season, Opening Ceremony teamed up with Phoebe and Annette to create a capsule collection of four exclusive bags. Below, they talk about sourcing silver, traveling the world, and their grandmother's pet playdates with Frida Kahlo.
Shop all Anndra Neen here.
Photos by Brayden Olson
Alice Newell-Hanson: Did you guys make things together when you were little?
Phoebe Stephens & Annette Stephens: There are five of us—three boys and two girls—so the two of us have always had a bond. Our family is also full of artists. We were always encouraged to do creative things like making costumes! Our father made lots of things too: he once built our brother a halfpipe for skateboarding. He had a studio where he kept a lot of stuff, but our grandmother was the real hoarder. Her studio was full of treasures.
ANH: Your grandmother was an artist too.
PS & AS: Yes, and she made jewelry, these big, one-off statement pieces. But she was predominantly an artist. She worked with Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera—she was an awesome lady! She would wear these stone rings shaped like pre-Columbian idols, bone bangles, and huge necklaces. She had a big red afro. She was married four times. And after our grandfather, she married an avant-garde composer of the John Cage school, so there were always interesting people around. She was super social; Anaïs Nin would drop by her house in Acapulco. We draw a lot of inspiration from her. She’s sort of the woman we design for.
ANH: What was her name?
PS & AS: Annette Nancarrow. She’s in a book of Frida Kahlo’s friends that came out recently. Someone is interested in writing a book about her and putting together an exhibition of her work. She painted murals and not many women did that then. It was a really interesting time in Mexico. Our parents have told us so many stories. Frida Kahlo had a monkey, for instance, and so did my grandparents. But their monkey was fiesty and would bite people so they sent him off to play with Frida’s.
ANH: How did you start designing your own jewelry and bags?
PS & AS: A trip to Japan really inspired us—we liked the culture's aesthetics and sensitivities. A week later, we went to Mexico. We had been in touch with someone who worked in metal there, and we designed a series of pieces. We thought we would make 30 but we ended up producing 50. We brought them back to New York and an editor friend of ours said we had to show them. It happened very organically. The New York Times broke the story, and we set up our own workshop in Mexico City.
ANH: I love Mexico City. Where exactly is your studio?
PS & AS: Do you know where the Zona Rosa is? It’s a funny area but we have a friend with a building there
The sisters were raised in Mexico City, where they produce the pieces at an artisinal workshop. While they're now based in New York, Mexico is still the brand's spiritual homeland, in part because it was home to the Stephens' grandmother, artist and designer Annette Nancarrow (more on her below). This season, Opening Ceremony teamed up with Phoebe and Annette to create a capsule collection of four exclusive bags. Below, they talk about sourcing silver, traveling the world, and their grandmother's pet playdates with Frida Kahlo.
Shop all Anndra Neen here.
Photos by Brayden Olson
Alice Newell-Hanson: Did you guys make things together when you were little?
Phoebe Stephens & Annette Stephens: There are five of us—three boys and two girls—so the two of us have always had a bond. Our family is also full of artists. We were always encouraged to do creative things like making costumes! Our father made lots of things too: he once built our brother a halfpipe for skateboarding. He had a studio where he kept a lot of stuff, but our grandmother was the real hoarder. Her studio was full of treasures.
ANH: Your grandmother was an artist too.
PS & AS: Yes, and she made jewelry, these big, one-off statement pieces. But she was predominantly an artist. She worked with Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera—she was an awesome lady! She would wear these stone rings shaped like pre-Columbian idols, bone bangles, and huge necklaces. She had a big red afro. She was married four times. And after our grandfather, she married an avant-garde composer of the John Cage school, so there were always interesting people around. She was super social; Anaïs Nin would drop by her house in Acapulco. We draw a lot of inspiration from her. She’s sort of the woman we design for.
ANH: What was her name?
PS & AS: Annette Nancarrow. She’s in a book of Frida Kahlo’s friends that came out recently. Someone is interested in writing a book about her and putting together an exhibition of her work. She painted murals and not many women did that then. It was a really interesting time in Mexico. Our parents have told us so many stories. Frida Kahlo had a monkey, for instance, and so did my grandparents. But their monkey was fiesty and would bite people so they sent him off to play with Frida’s.
ANH: How did you start designing your own jewelry and bags?
PS & AS: A trip to Japan really inspired us—we liked the culture's aesthetics and sensitivities. A week later, we went to Mexico. We had been in touch with someone who worked in metal there, and we designed a series of pieces. We thought we would make 30 but we ended up producing 50. We brought them back to New York and an editor friend of ours said we had to show them. It happened very organically. The New York Times broke the story, and we set up our own workshop in Mexico City.
ANH: I love Mexico City. Where exactly is your studio?
PS & AS: Do you know where the Zona Rosa is? It’s a funny area but we have a friend with a building there