Reinventing With Rashi World
interview by tamila purvis.
Anna Feller didn’t set out to reinvent beachwear.
She just couldn’t stand wearing rashies that felt like dirty wetsuit knock-offs. From Canada to Byron Bay and now North Bondi, she’s become a fixture of Australia’s beach scene, the person you picture when someone says “surf style.” Longtime friend and trouble maker Sydney stylist Tamila Purvis, who first met Anna back in NYC’s Dim Sum GoGo grabs a matcha with her to unpack Rashi World, the brand she’s been quietly building for two years. Rashi World isn’t swimwear masquerading as fashion. It’s designed to be worn everywhere: surf, sun, streets and raves. It's lightweight, body-friendly cuts with ’90s vibes that feel current. Anna’s vision was simple, make rashies you actually want to wear.
We’ve been friends for agesss. Met you in New York around 2010. I remember it was at Dim Sum GoGo and you were an angel baby. You ended up basing yourself here in Australia and now when I think of Bondi, I think of you and vice versa… but you’re from Canada originally… how did you become such an icon of the beach life??
Oh my goodness, has it been that long? I will never forget that day in NYC. I thought you were the coolest person in the room. As for becoming a salt water icon, honestly I live embarrassingly close to the beach. I have no excuse. The ocean is my default, my grounding force, my zen zone.
Growing up in Canada, we lived for the arrival of spring after long, cold, snow heavy winters. That shift, the colours and the early blossoms always set the tone for me. It completely inspired this collection. Crocus, daffodils, fruit tree blossoms, all of it turning the season into a dreamy, sunshine filled anticipation. When I first came to Australia and realised I could basically have spring and summer every day (sorry Aussies, there is no real winter here), I thought, what is this life? And I have been here ever since.
If anyone could make a sun safe brand cool, it is you. But how and why did the idea to do Rashi World come about?
Thank you. I am determined to make rashis cool and I will not back down. I have been quietly developing Rashi World for the past two years, although the idea began long before that. At first I thought, easy, just get it done. Of course it was not that simple. Building a brand is a serious undertaking, as you know better than anyone. I worked on it whenever I could. Sketching, researching, fitting, dreaming. I was constantly calling my sister in Vancouver who is a costume designer. She happened to have time off during the strike, and we began plotting. We worked on fits and built the foundation. I became obsessed with my baby Rashi.
You have worked across pretty much every creative lane in fashion. Modelling, styling, shooting, directing. How did all of that feed into actually designing and producing a collection?
I have definitely worn many hats, and I feel lucky for every one of them. Collaborating with so many people across the industry taught me so much. Now creating my own thing feels both surreal and overdue.
When I first started dreaming this up, the inspiration came straight from North Bondi where I live. The nippers training in front of my house. The colours. The old buildings. The ocean at every turn. I could not shake it.
There are so many bad rashis out there, and I just wanted one that actually felt good to wear. Something lighter than neoprene, something that works in warm water, something you can throw on without thinking and even wear with jeans. More like a bodysuit or a tee depending on the cut. Something that moves with you, feels good on your body and lets you stay out in the Australian sun without worrying about it.
The range has clean 90s nostalgia vibes but still feels modern. Was there a specific reference that set the tone?
I am a streetwear girl through and through. Ask Monster Children, they know. The collection is basically me in clothing form. I want pieces I can work out in, swim in, hang on the beach in and then head straight to a friend’s restaurant without changing. Sometimes I am in the mood for colour, sometimes I only want black and white. And I love pieces that can be shared between the people in my life, from my son to my friends, which is why the unisex styles feel so right.
What other influences have you brought in?
This first collection is all about the fabric - I was desperate to do only one fabric across the entire first collection - something that felt sculpting to women but not too hot, and also in oversized styles would fall nicely on the body. Something that felt like the water even if you weren’t in it, I hope to portray a lifestyle that women & men my age, younger or older are excited to get down with!
Top 5 for a Rashi World mixtape
Understand by Omah Lay
Circadian Rhythm by Drake
Daddy’s a Psycho by Charlotte Cardin
Waterfalls by TLC
Hold Yuh by Gyptian
