Anna Sui Reveals How She Met Courtney Love, That She Inspired Marilyn Manson's Backless Chaps

Having dressed many a rock star, Anna Sui's got juicy stories galore. The designer opened up to Elle for the magazine's "Women in Music" issue, revealing her style inspirations, musical connections and that time Courtney Love got naked in her store.

On how music is her muse:

"I love punk, I love a lot of British Invasion bands, I love garage bands. [...] Every collection that I work on, I always think, Is this cool enough to wear to a concert? Would a rock star wear this?"

Who she's dressed:

Besides the dirty-blond trinity of Madonna, Love, and Nicks (who purchased a black brocade coat and a top hat from Sui's fall 1997 collection), the designer's headlining clientele has included Mick Jagger, who wore an embroidered vest to host Saturday Night Live in 1993 (not long after, Keith Richards, ever the Glimmer Twin, called to order a black ruffle-front shirt for himself), and Marilyn Manson, who, inspired by one of Sui's designs, scandalized America by wearing a pair of backless chaps to the 1997 VMAs.

On the first time Anna met Courtney Love:

There was the day the manager of Sui's SoHo store called: "He said, 'Anna, the store looks like a teenage girl's bedroom right now -- Courtney Love is standing naked in the middle of it, trying on everything, just throwing the clothes on the floor.' " Sui told him to put the singer on the phone. Moments later, she and Love had dinner plans.

And ostensibly tons to talk about, we're sure. Read the rest at Elle.com.