Tanya Taylor on Optimism and Openness During the COVID-19 Crisis
For Small Business Spotlight, Vogue will be highlighting an independent fashion business every weekend—and the brilliant finds you can shop to support their bottom lines.
When Tanya Taylor, the Canadian-born, New York-based designer, found herself traveling to Toronto for an event in mid-March, she definitely didn’t anticipate still being there a month later. “My arrival coincided with the lockdown, but thankfully I’m from here originally,” she says. “I’m seven months pregnant, though, so I’m probably going to be here until the baby comes.” For now, she’s spending her days working on her upcoming collections remotely with her team in New York, with the occasional foray into painting and baking to take her mind off things. “I’m not good at baking, but everyone will eat it as there’s nothing else to eat,” she adds, with a laugh. “It’s a good time to pretend you’re a chef, at least!”
Despite the uncertain circumstances, Taylor remains upbeat about the practicalities of making and delivering the collections her studio were working on, before she found herself cut off from them physically. “It’s definitely been challenging, but we’re a very close-knit team,” she explains. “Working remotely is hardest when you can’t touch things. You find yourself saying, is that fabric sheer? Is that fabric heavy? You just have to ask a lot more questions. We’re fitting fall right now, and sending the collections to the fit models’ homes, and their husbands or partners are taking pictures and videos,” she adds. “They’ve been our fit models for years, and they’ve all been very kind.”
The loyalty Taylor clearly inspires among her community is unsurprising—her sunny disposition, humor, and openness feel perfectly aligned with the ethos she’s built at the brand she launched in 2012. With her love of bold color and hand-painted, graphic prints, her modus operandi has always been one of optimism and inclusivity; her extended sizes run from 0-22, allowing the label to cater for women who have often found themselves overlooked by more rarified corners of the fashion industry. A favorite of celebrities from Michelle Obama and Taylor Swift, the palpable sense of joy that runs through Taylor’s clothes have also made her competitively-priced dresses a hit during the summer party months. “We’re really thinking ahead to a time when people will hopefully be in a more celebratory mood, especially come next spring,” Taylor adds. “It’s been a fresh slate of sorts, where our design team are thinking, how can we create happiness for people during this time?”
While it’s keeping an eye firmly trained on the future that’s ensuring Taylor and her team remain positive longer-term, the immediate challenges are also important for staying energized in the interim. “We’re trying to pivot and think about what we can create for our site that’s maybe at a lower price point, and feels more appropriate for people that are at home right now,” she explains. “Turning our attention towards what feels timely has really given the team a boost, just thinking about what’s realistic.” One outcome of this lateral thinking has been their impressive efforts to produce masks for hospitals across both sides of the border: so far totalling 10,000 masks for New York City hospitals, and 17,000 for Canadian hospitals, and counting.
