Tanya Taylor’s spring 2021 collection is appearing alongside pre-fall (i.e., summer) collections and fall 2021 menswear. It’s partly a test of the see-now-buy-now concept: These clothes are arriving in stores and on Taylor’s website in early February, so customers will only have seen them on Instagram and Vogue Runway for two weeks, not the standard five or six months. The general assumption is that a shorter “lead time” makes for more engaged, excited customers; they aren’t bored of a dress by the time it’s actually available. But the bigger reason Taylor sat out September’s virtual “fashion month” was to focus her attention on registering young people to vote.
She and her team created videos titled Things That Take Longer Than Registering to Vote, starring celebrities like Mindy Kaling, who spends a few minutes watering her plants; Rosario Dawson, who takes off a full face of makeup; and even Hillary Clinton, who played with her dog outside. Those are just a few things that take more time and energy than registering to vote online.
Fortunately their efforts weren’t in vain, and it’s serendipitous timing that spring is launching on Inauguration Day. Taylor designed the collection with calmer, warmer days in mind; with a new president and a vaccine, there’s a sense that life will feel somewhat revived by spring. Her instinct is that women will want to trade their leggings for colorful, mood-lifting clothes, but nothing too complicated. The focus here was on sharp lines, a few sporty touches, and energetic colors—consider a black cotton dress with puffed sleeves and a surprise neon lining, or a flowy midi with hand-painted poppies. She might have added a ruffle or flounce in the past; this time around she was smart to embrace simplicity.
The collection’s only button-down was similarly clean, yet exuberant, with giant flared sleeves and hand-painted banker stripes. It looked fresh tucked into acid-wash jeans and midi skirts, but the collection’s hero top—for Zoom or real life!—was a smocked blouse in a nearly-fluorescent shade of fuchsia. It’s easy to imagine women wearing it as it’s styled here when New York heats up again: with gingham pedal pushers and strappy sandals.
