Announced as one of Vauxhall Fashion Scout’s ‘Ones to Watch’ for S/S 2011, Lancashire born Charlotte Taylor is only in her third season. Packed with punchy prints and clashing colours that have been turned on their head with delicate, antique jewellery and minimal make-up, the labels A/W ’11 collection proves to be a well-travelled, worldly feast for the fun-loving fashion hungry. It is fun tinged with sophistication, urban shaded by tradition, but ultimately, Charlotte says the definitive CT girl is, “someone who does not take herself too seriously and loves to live life.” Emma Jayne Daniels speaks to Charlotte on her newest collection.
Taylor studied at Central Saint Martin’s in London and says she worked every single minute in between with different designers. “I graduated in 2008 and went straight to work at Luella. My job title was Creative Marketing Assistant and I was involved in the look of the shops and designing spin-off, marketing products. It was a great environment to be in, I was surrounded by the entire Luella team and I learnt a huge amount from all of the production, sales, PR and merchandising teams. It gave me the confidence and knowledge to go out on my own. I left in 2009 and then launched in 2010 with Vauxhall Fashion Scout in London.”
The upcoming collection, an exciting eclectic mix of African, English Heritage and Hungarian Gypsy elements, Charlotte explains is the result of her own travel experiences. “I went to Kenya with my fella and fell in love with the colours and animals. I also found the contrast of the colonised areas both fascinating and unsettling. We spent a weekend in Budapest last year as well and I became obsessed with some of their traditional clothing.” The presence of the kooky robots she says is, “just another one of my weird obsessions!”
Taylor describes how the label has been stripped down for the forthcoming season, focussing on the real essence behind the label – the prints. The prints have been carried over from previous seasons with newly infused colour ways and designs. The collection itself contains duvet-sized scarves, classic silk blouses, shirts, and the much-loved headscarf. This season also sees the introduction of a collection of limited edition wallpaper prints. “I don’t really know how that came about, actually. I think I just thought one day how awesome it would be to have penguins, robots and ants all over your walls!”
“I am now currently working on my fourth season and I’m finding myself drawn towards Japanese art, tattooing, nail art, origami and bonsai trees, as well as bumblebees and fishing as my sources of inspiration for Spring Summer 2012…really eclectic!”
With her name vibrating around the fashion industry right now the future certainly looks vivid for Charlotte, who has hopes of exhibiting her collection in both London and Paris this coming September. “There are tonnes of plans for the label. Watch this space!”
For more information, please visit www.charlottetaylorltd.com.
by Emma Jayne Daniels
