FASHION DESIGNER,
ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, FASHION DESIGN,
THE SCHOOL OF THE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO

Anke Loh’s creative pursuits compel her to examine differences between peoples and cultures, landscapes, streetscapes, sights, and sounds. She works to discover the extraordinary in the seemingly mundane facets and materials that weave the fabric of everyday life in a given culture. Her work explores how these cultures are defined by their pace, and by the idiosyncratic behaviors and perspectives of their people. Loh’s recent Dressing Light project evolved as a series of responses to the physical and cultural differences she found between Chicago and Antwerp, where she resided for over a decade before joining the SAIC faculty.

 
 
 
 
 
BACKGROUND

Loh studied fashion at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp, earning a BFA in 1998 and an MFA in 1999. Her fashion design and art have been shown internationally, including Urban Identities at Carnival Supermarket Chicago in 2009, Aloft: Fearless Fashion at Chicago’s and Miami’s Luminaire® in 2007 and 2009, and Dressing Light at Chicago’s UBS Tower and the Chicago Cultural Center in 2006, which drew international media coverage. An installation in the Liebfrauen Church, Münster, Germany; at Gallery Simone Gaubatz in Paris; Museu Tèxtill de la Indumentària in Barcelona; and the Musée d’Art & Industrie in Saint-Etienne, France. The Anke Loh collection has been presented in runway shows at the Centre Pompidou in Paris; the Osaka Collection Show in Japan; and Mode 2001 Landed in Antwerp. Loh designs costumes for theatre and dance companies, including Rosas / Anne Teresa de Keersmaeker in Brussels. In addition, Loh was honored as a Laureate at the Festival International des Arts et de la Mode in Hyères, France.

Loh’s designwork has been covered by the Associated Press, Vogue USA, the New York Times, Purple magazine and Elle Canada and others.