Anna Sorokin Explains Her 'Scarlet Letter' Courthouse Style (Exclusive)

Convicted con artist turned PR partner Anna Sorokin turned her court-ordered ankle monitor into a fashion accessory — and she didn’t stop there.

In the few minutes Sorokin, 33 – known as Anna Delvey – has between walking from her car to the New York courthouse for her ongoing immigration case, she took the opportunity to make as many statements as possible. That meant a partnership with designer Shao Yang, who designs under her eponymous label SHAO New York. Delvey and veteran fashion publicist Kelly Cutrone teamed up to represent SHAO through their pop-up PR agency, The Outlaw Agency.

Sorokin, who is currently under house arrest in upstate New York during her immigration case — which follows her 2019 conviction for shoplifting and theft — is letting her clothes do the talking as she is banned from social media (another result of her immigration case ). One way she and Yang have done this is with the “scarlet letter” theme of Sorokin’s two recent court appearances.

Anna Sorokin in New York.

Janet Mayer/Shutterstock; TheImageDirect.com

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On May 16, Sorokin arrived at the New York courthouse wearing a black oversized twill suit with a high-waisted pencil skirt and a high slit, paired with a white cotton button-down shirt with built-in shoulder pads and a silk velvet bow. tie. The jacket had a bright red “A” on it—all designed with Yang for her line.

For her June 6 appearance, Sorokin once again highlighted her scarlet letter, this time as a Swarovski crystal “A” on her ankle monitor. She paired it with an off-white double-breasted square-neck silk-wool-blend dress with strong shoulders and a matching bow, which she also designed with Yang for her label.

With both looks, Yang says they wanted to do something “tailored” but “edgy” that still had “a little sexiness.”

Anna Sorokin on May 16 in New York.

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Cutrone, who has worked with Sorokin since last year, tells PEOPLE that the monogram is Sorokin’s “way of commenting on the smearing of Anne.”

Yang adds, “We always incorporate some sort of embellishment into her look, whether it’s a crimson ‘A’ or a blinding ‘A’ on her ankle monitor, something a little more sassy than us. I used to think the crimson letter stood for adulterers, but now I think it’s it’s just a metaphor for persecuted women.”

Sorokin says she’s tired of her character being bashed — and she’s especially tired of being labeled a “fake heiress,” following her 2019 conviction for attempted grand larceny, grand larceny and theft services. (She served three years of her four- to 12-year sentence and was released in 2021, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement authorities took her into custody a few weeks later. She was released on $10,000 bail and remained in a 24-hour house arrest from.)

“I hate it,” Sorokin, who spent years posing as the daughter of a wealthy German diplomat, tells PEOPLE of the “fake heiress” label. – I think it’s the worst thing that happened in my life.

However, she still likes to own the moment and uses the power of the few minutes she has away from home for her court duties. When she arrived at the courthouse in May, she says security “kept an eye” on her because they thought she was going to stage a mock fashion show — similar to the one she, Cutrone and Yang performed during New York Fashion Week last fall.

Anna Sorokin on June 6 in New York.

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“After the hearing, they followed me around,” she says. “They didn’t walk me out, but they kept an eye on me. They tried to make small talk, and I said, ‘I’m just waiting for my car. Can I just sit down?’ It was a public space, he said, ‘Well, is your car coming?’ I said, ‘Is there a problem with me being here?’ And he said, ‘Well, I don’t really know anything about your story, but is it true that you were going to do a fashion show in court today?’ I thought, ‘What?'”

Cutrone says she didn’t even think about turning the courthouse into a runway.

“It wasn’t planned,” insists Cutrone. (Although they had photographers for New York Post and Shutterstock on hand to document Sorokin’s court appearance.)

“We had three minutes of international coverage at no cost,” says Cutrone, indicating how important that is to Yang as a designer.

“I believe in my brand with all my heart,” Yang tells PEOPLE of working with Sorokin and Cutrone. “I think it goes a long way. They’re brilliant with any idea they come up with. I love working with them. There’s nothing I’d change.”

Kelly Cutrone’s Instagram story.

Shao New York/Instagram

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Sorokin says she wants to highlight the designer’s talent and make the most of her “advantageous situation” in a way that isn’t “exploitative.” This was evident in their NYFW show last season and carried over to her court fashion – and will continue for the foreseeable future.

“I guess that’s the big goal here: to channel him into something else, which I think worked well with Shao, because I would get attention for anything I did,” Sorokin says. “Everything automatically attracts attention, but I think we’ve made something more out of it, hopefully, for Shao.”

He adds: “Negative things happen to people all the time. I think a lot of people relate to that — it doesn’t have to be exactly the same as what happened to me, but it’s about turning it into something positive.”

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Source: HIS Education