It began at Starbucks.
She had just quit her job as assistant designer atMary-Kate and Ashley Olsens clothing lineElizabeth and James.
Failure was likely, this being a clothing line.
Taylors clothes are like a bouquet, and not just because thats what they resemble.
Theyre both special and accessible, not an everyday thing but a treat.
Theres nothing severe about her flowy cuts or floral prints, many hand-painted by Taylor herself.
IfRick Owenswere at one end of a spectrum of edginess, Taylor would be at the opposite.
And now she occupies a certain coveted place in that industry.
Attendees included Natalie Massenet, the founder of Net-A-Porter, and Sarah Hoover, an art dealer from Gagosian.
Before the pandemic, business was good.
Taylor doubled her staff to 28, and 2019 sales were up 120% year-over-year to $10 million.
Taylor has a distinct memory of when she was 8 years old.
And I’m like, What?
And they’re like, Start a bracelet company.
Start selling to your friends at school, said Taylor.
Its not like she was the sales-y jot down.
Reclusive and very, very quiet is how she described herself.
She was nervous to make friends with anyone but the four girls she considered close.
Her moms sisterfounded the company that became Corus, a kids TV station in Canada.
Entrepreneurship was in her DNA.
It was a summer job, unpaid, and I begged for it.
I thought I was just killing it, she said.
I, like,lovecalculus, she said.
But she quickly decided a career in finance wasnt for her.
Nor was taking over the family business.
The internship turned into a full-time job that she held for two-and-a-half years.
So she decided to quit her job and do it herself.
Carmi, now theCEO of Altuzarra, remains one of Taylors mentors.
But she’s not afraid of the business aspects.
And in fact, she really jumps into them very fully.
So she called the museums restaurant, The Modern.
Id like to have an event at the museum, she said.
The person who answered the phone told her, Thats really funny.
She had no collection to show, but also nothing to lose.
Eventually, she convinced a man at J.P. Morgan to give her one of their slots.
you’re able to bring your whole family, she said.
After her show, orders started coming in from stores, including Saks Fifth Avenue.
Her life was also changing in other ways.
Were really close friends, she said of Clinton, describing their children as now inseparable.
When Wintour stepped off the elevator, Taylor handed her the coffee.
Wintour removed the splash stick and walked across the tiny office to throw it in the trash can.
She then looked at Taylors rack and offered her advice about how to edit her collection.
When borders shut down, she was in Canada, pregnant with her second boy.
No one ever feels like they’re safe, she said.
It’s not like there’s a moment where you’re like, OK, I’m successful now.
I don’t need to worry about my company.
I make Saturdays so creative, she said.
She and her family then go to an art museum the Whitney or Cooper Hewitt.
If it hadnt been for the pandemic, Taylor would have been profitable by now.
Outside investment is not out of the question.
Im sure were going to hit a point where we might have to do that, she said.
Id love to find a strategic partner who can continue to teach me things.
Amy Odell is a fashion and culture journalist and the author of the forthcomingANNA: The Biography.
Photographs by Eric T White
This article was originally published onNovember 23, 2021
