Taylor Spring 2009 Collection Review
Amanda Haxton of Designer Direction spoke to designer Vicki Taylor about the inspiration behind the Taylor spring range for 2009 and what we can expect from the collection due in their Ponsonby and Newmarket stores on the 25th of July.
Auckland based Taylor Boutique is now in its 10th year of retailing success. Taylor’s signature look is dark intelligent design, classic pieces with interesting tailored details, and a strong emphasis on New Zealand made product and fabrics.
Taylor’s 2009 spring collection follows in their dark style, but brighter block colours will be introduced as the season progresses. The collection plays on a juxtaposition of hard and soft, masculine and feminie. There’s a heavy emphasis on layering, and a certain amount of androgyny in their oversized shirts, jeans and boyfriend jackets.
DD: What was the inspiration for the spring collection?
VT: The spring collection is a little bit dreamlike, which is quite strange for me. It’s got a strong tailoring aspect. I tend to work from fabrication forward rather than make a theme and then try and find fabrics to fit. So for me it’s more about the shapes I feel like wearing. It hasn’t got a theme as such; I find a theme is very restrictive.
DD: You known for using neutral colour palettes, what colours will we be seeing for spring?
VT: Last summer we did quite a bold group, but generally speaking I work with blacks, whites, greys, beiges, chocolate browns, green browns – that kind of thing. This is because I want my clothes to last longer than one season and the first thing that dates is colour. I do little bits of colour and this season it’s about colour blocking rather than print. Colour is an emotive thing, and this season the idea is “come and buy a yellow dress and make yourself feel good”.
DD: What fabrics are you using for spring?
VT: Silks, linens, tencels, georgettes, I still use a lot of silk jerseys because they’ve got such a beautiful flow and movement. I’ve got this amazing fabric from Japan that Lanvin used last season and it feels like liquid.
DD: Where was the fabric for your spring collection sourced from?
VT: We use New Zealand Merino, and other than that, the suiting, woven fabrics and base cloths all come from Italy. I go to Premier Vision, the big textile show once a year, and also to Japan.
DD: What shapes can we expect from Taylor this Season?
VT: There’s a lot of volume. In the past few seasons we’ve used a lot of low plunging necklines and now we’ve turned them around and we’ve got these amazing volumous backs that you can drawstring up or let them go.
DD: You’ve got more ‘brought in’ labels this year than ever before. Which label are you most excited about?
VT: An English shoe designer called Beatrix Ong, who was Jimmy Choos‘ design assistant. I’ve been watching her label when I go to Europe. She does this amazing big heel with a chunky wedge at the front. We’re watching shoes get higher and higher and at the moment – they are like skyscrapers.
Visit the Taylor Boutique website http://www.taylorboutique.co.nz
Photographs supplied by Taylor
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