Though Anna Lynett Moss first caught our collective eyes as a budding, self-taught apparel designer on Project Runway, she kept our gaze because of what she did after her fling with reality TV. “My parents emphasized discipline and hard work. I wasn’t introduced to the art or fashion world in a really tangible way until I arrived at RISD,” Anna says about growing up outside of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. She studied printmaking at the Rhode Island School of Design, training her knack for shapes and color before moving on to creating structure and forms.

Bags proved to be the perfect vehicle for her geometric and structured designs, and her minimalistic handbag line CHIYOME, named after her Japanese great-grandmother was founded in 2011. Inspired by modern architecture, Baohaus proportions, and, unexpectedly, Moroccan hand-woven rugs, CHIYOME melds sharp lines with natural materials such as leather, wood, and canvas for pieces that are both beautiful and innovative; her signature handbags utilize a wooden or metallic top bar that provides structure for the bag as well as functioning as a handle.

As introspective as her designs, Anna also runs an apparel construction workshop in a group home for teenage girls as well being involved in numerous humanitarian projects, mostly involving disadvantaged women. “I had the sense early on that the fashion industry could be harnessed as a vehicle for social change--as a way to improve lives, create awareness around important issues, and strengthen communities,” she explains.

Recently, her work teaching an extremely popular fashion theory course at a women’s prison on Riker’s Island caught the attention of news outlets as she led discussions with her students about issues in society through examining Burberry’s prints for their Resort 2012 collection and the racial diversity of models.

“Being a woman has made me aware of the way violence and inequality works in pervasive and hidden ways in our culture. I am fortunate to be empowered in relation to these problems and able to pursue solutions through my work.” Anna is also serving as the creative director and designer of a new handbag line, ONRA, which trains and supports victims and survivors of sex-trafficking.