Going Places - Interview

Tanya Taylor

The New York-based fashion designer chats about her brand’s new flagship, finding art on her travels and why she can go back to Barbados again and again.

By Dominique Lamberton

When Tanya Taylor packs for a trip, versa tility is top of mind. The Toronto-born designer might bring a two-piece ensemble with floral eyelet detailing from her own label, wearing it as a set one day, styling the crop top with wide-leg pants another, and the skirt with a big shirt later on. “I get three outfits from packing just a few items,” she says. “I think about that when I’m designing as well — how do I solve for someone’s life in the most efficient way?”

Taylor’s eponymous brand, which marked its 10th anniversary in 2022, is known for hand-painted prints that wind up on ruffly dresses, one-piece bathing suits and breezy tops. Color dictates both the brand’s designs and Taylor’s own fashion sense, especially when she travels. “The fun thing on vacation is I sometimes end up wearing what’s still clean, and it becomes this cool combination that’s a little wackier than what I would wear at home.”

Range What inspires your designs?

Tanya Taylor Art is always what inspires me. Painters like Helen Frankenthaler, Lee Krasner and Joan Mitchell are artists I look to for starting color palettes and being inspired by shape.

R Does art play a role in how you travel, too?

TT Yes, when I travel I see such unique art that feels different from what I can find in New York. I went to Japan in the spring and the questions that guided me around Tokyo, Hakone and Kyoto were: What does modern art look like in this country? What are artists really saying? What style is it? And what does the past look like? It’s fun to get to know new places through what people are creating.

R Your first store just opened, on Madison Avenue in the Upper East Side — why there?

TT I think it’s the most iconic neighborhood in New York. It has an awesome mix of people and hospitality, with the Carlyle and the Mark Hotel as the anchors. When I first came to the city, the Carlyle made me fall in love with New York. The live music, the scene — you can find 85-year-olds there at 11 p.m. sipping martinis, but you’ll also find 18-year-olds eating French fries. The intergenerational and love-of-New York feeling in that little neighborhood is pretty special.

R Where else do you love returning to again and again?

TT Barbados — it’s like a second home. My grandparents lived there when I was eight and my mom moved there when I was 17. I got married there, too. I’m not really a girl who can sit by the pool and read — I like to be productive, so sandcastle-building is one of my talents. And I just love immersing myself in Barbados culture.