Ann Summers was born in Wales and is of Chinese descent, although her heritage is English. Ann was a very precocious young woman whose natural gifts of imaginative play, drawing, and decorating were put on full display as a child through her love of drawing and painting. Ann’s interest in mature themes led her to become a member of the British Royal Academy of St. Laurence where she gained a degree in art. It was there that Ann Summers’ love of international fashion began to take shape when she fell under the tutelage of Flavio Matani who introduced her to world renowned designer Mario Moretti who at that time was setting the bar for Italian designer’s clothing styles. From this point, Ann Summers pursued a career in designing clothing for many of the many elite names in the industry.
Ann worked for many years in the publishing business as a writer before she decided to take her talent and turn it into her own passion. Ann started her own clothing design company in 1947 with her husband Mario, where they specialized in creating bodysuits and swim wear for women. Ann Summers also held down the fort as a sales woman for her mother’s printing company, which allowed her to expand her line of clothing with classy and sophisticated designs fit for any age and body style. Ann Summers was also a successful clothing designer who managed to keep the company afloat during the turbulent times that hit the worldwide economy during the middle of the 1960’s.
Ann continued to work with her international designer clients for many years and in this time she honed her skills by reading widely on fashion and design and immersing herself in all the various cultural influences of the world. She earned a Master’s Degree in Designing from the University of Cambridge where she focused on researching the impact of dress on gender and nationality identity. This experience taught Ann that clothes were not merely an item of clothing but represented their country and were an emotional expression as well as a functional necessity. In this time Ann continued to work with her partners and grew their company until it reached the peak of its popularity when the company partner Dietrich & Lorsch left the company to pursue his own dreams of running his own fashion house. Ann Summers was a true success in both the designing department and in keeping the company afloat during the difficult period that the industry was experiencing at that time.