Interview: Charlotte Taylor

June 3rd, 2011

Charlotte Taylor F/W 2011

Charlotte Taylor is a young up-and-coming Lancashire-born, The Isle of Wight-based designer with a penchant for cute animals and grannie style. A graduate of Central Saint Martins, she cut her teeth working in marketing for Luella, where she learned about the other side of the fashion business. Following Luella’s fold in 2009, Taylor launched her own eponymous label, a process she famously documented on her blog, charlotte-taylor.blogspot.com. Declared “The One to Watch” by Vauxhall Fashion Scout, Taylor is indeed an exciting new name on the scene. With her F/W 2011 collection soon making its debut on this side of the pond, we caught up with the designer for a chat.

The Block: What is it like to be labeled “The One to Watch?”

Charlotte Taylor: It was a fantastic endorsement for the brand and it really catapulted us into the limelight at [London Fashion Week]. The show was fantastic, although brutally stressful. It was a real dream to have my family in the audience hooting as we all walked down the runway at the end. I was so emotional; I wanted to run straight off!

TB: Your prints are full of animals, but what is your favourite animal friend and why?

CT: Penguins. They were what started it and they have always been mine and my brother’s favourite animals. They are so funny. The film Happy Feet makes me smile for about five days every time I watch it. We have a Labrador dog and a little black cat as well at home and they have us all wrapped around their little fingers.

TB: Other than adorable animals, what influences and inspires your design process?

CT: Anything random. The weirder the better. This season it’s Japanese nail art and tattooing as well as fishing and honeybees.

TB: Would you agree that there is a bit of a print revolution happening in the UK? I’m thinking Erdem, Christopher Kane, Jonathan Sounders, Mary Katrantzou, Emma Cook etc.

CT: Maybe, yes. It’s a fantastic medium for designers to push their creations even further.

TB: Upon launching your own label, you also launched a blog that documented that process. How has digital media helped you get your name out there?

CT: It has helped me hugely. It was probably the smartest move I have made to date. It created a buzz around the label before I had even shown anyone any clothes. I hope it has also helped other designers along the way but it has undoubtedly assisted in increasing the reach of the label.

TB: And you launched in the midst of recession. What has been the most challenging aspect in setting up your label?

CT: Shops are not that easy to get on board when you are in your first few seasons, let alone when there is a recession going on and budgets have been cut. For me, a huge part of the challenge was doing everything. Designing was only a small amount of it, the rest of the time was spent on running the business, pushing sales, press, lookbooks, shows, business plans, strategies, accounts, finance…it’s endless. Thank God my brother Ben is now on board to take over a lot of the business side and get us all in shape. We still seem to have twice as much work to do though!

TB: Both creativity and business-wise, whose careers do you personally admire?

CT: Marc Jacobs for both. I think that the branding of his labels is exceptional and he really has so many markets nailed.

TB: In terms of design, what can we expect from Charlotte Taylor in the future?

CT: From now on everything in the label will always remain printed. We are launching with a US retailer in August for whom we have designed an exclusive spin off range and we will be exhibiting in Paris and London this season as well. Lots going on!

TB: Define the Charlotte Taylor brand in three words.

CT: Random, uplifting, elegant.

Interview Anya Georgijevic