Rebecca Taylor Wraps up for NY’s Cold

Growing up along the beaches of New Zealand, designer Rebecca Taylor didn’t need a closet full of coats, she tells the Chicago Tribune. But when she moved to New York to build her brand in the late ‘90s, she quickly cultivated an appreciation of the form.

“It used to be, I’ve got a coat, why do I need another? That was the New Zealand mentality,” Taylor said over tea on a blustery autumn afternoon. “But in New York, you wear a coat every day for six months of the year – and you need options.”

She delivers them. Like her clothes, her jackets and coats carry feminine touches – ones that soften the blows of bleak weather without sacrificing utility. Her tricks and tips can inform any coat or jacket purchase for autumn and winter.

Faux fur coats in her collection, including a leopard print one, are constructed on fur machinery, “so we actually shave down the seam allowances and stitch them together with the fur machine, so they aren’t bulky. You don’t feel like you’re wearing a teddy bear costume. But it is so warm.”

According to Taylor’s website, her brand “has a loyal fan base and a dedicated following, with devotees from Reese Witherspoon, Rashida Jones, and Camilla Belle to Emmy Rossum and Catherine Middleton. The collection has been featured in Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, Elle, Glamour, W, Nylon, Marie Claire, and InStyle.”

Taylor was born and raised in Wellington.

Original article by Wendy Donahue, Chicago Tribune, November 18, 2015.