Who hasn’t, at some point in lockdown life, began to feel like they were devolving—or maybe evolving—into another life form? Stress turning you into a snake? Anxiety having you wish you could crawl back into a safe little egg? For Collina Strada designer Hillary Taymour, the idea of turning humans into animals offered a sense of relief and joy. So she partnered with the illustrator of the Animorphs book series, David Burroughs Mattingly, and collaborators Charlie Engman and Freeka Tet to make graphics that transform her cast of star models like Aaron Philip, Ruby Aldridge, Jeremy O. Harris, and Kathleen McCain Engman into cats, peacocks, praying mantises, and even a balloon dog. The levity is hard earned; throughout the pandemic year, Taymour has not only continued to push herself to produce environmentally minded collections using leftover materials and recycled fabrics, but she was also one of the first to create masks for sale and for healthcare workers.
Funny as her human-morphs might seem—and they are delightful—Taymour is dead serious about her business. For fall 2021 she has used leftover materials from previous seasons, incorporated toiles straight into the look book, turned past seasons into a new material, and repurposed tees from the Kantamanto market in Ghana into the collection. She’s also launched a partnership with TheRealReal where vintage pieces unfit for the site have been recut and made into crop tops, dresses, and trousers.
Her silhouettes are perhaps her most honest yet, layered and slimmed down into the way Taymour herself dresses. Sheer stretch tanks are placed over voluminous dresses and button-down shirts—some primly paired with pleated skirts—for a sleek, comfortable style that feels just romantic enough without losing a sense of practicality. I know, I know—an outfit that morphs into a frog might not seem essential at first pass, but as we redefine our lives, why not redefine our essential wardrobes, too? Taymour’s lively, sustainably minded pieces are a great start.
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