Can you tell us a little about yourself?

My name is Alexa Claire Taylor, and I grew up in Grand Rapids, Michigan, in a family of entrepreneurs, which gave me an appreciation for building something from the ground up from an early age. I've always been drawn to creativity and knew my whole life I wanted to pursue art school after watching my grandma paint, make jewelry, and own a floral buisness. I went on to study Fashion Design at the Savannah College of Art and Design, where I graduated with my BFA.

Do you remember the first time you realized you wanted to become a fashion designer?

Working in fashion and being a fashion designer were always two very different things to me growing up. In middle school, I became really interested in self-expression - how people dress, photography, makeup, hair, and all the ways we communicate who we are without saying anything at all. I think it really helped me because I’ve always been a relatively quiet person, so it helped me let people know who I am.

By the time I was 14, I wanted to work in fashion marketing. I started at SCAD at 18 as a Fashion Marketing and Management major because I loved the idea of building brands and telling stories, but I never really thought about being the one designing the clothes; it seemed so intimidating.

Then I took a textiles class with Mary Norton. We had a design project where I drew my first croquis, and after class, Mary came up to me, asked if I had enjoyed the project, and said, "Have you ever thought about switching to Fashion Design?" My immediate thought was, "Oh my God, my parents are going to kill me," because I was already two years into my degree. But they were incredibly supportive, and somehow we pulled it off.

Before officially switching, I spent the summer in London at London College of Fashion taking a Business of Fashion course. It felt like a nice way to get my last lessons in marketing before completely changing direction.

Your collection features dramatic colors, flowing silhouettes, and striking accessories. How would you describe your design aesthetic?

My style definitely pulls toward playful and comforting. I consider it a success if someone says, “Oh my god, that's so cute.” A lot of my work explores unconventional femininity and is inspired by sentimental, artistic, and lighthearted women in my life. I’m interested in the ways femininity can exist outside of traditional expectations, especially through the lens of queer women and the ways we use clothing to express ourselves in interesting, fun, and unconventional ways.

What does your creative process look like? Does it begin with sketches, fabric, mood boards, photography or something else entirely?

My process always starts with an observation of some kind, why it matters, why it should exist right now, and who needs it. Next its typically some sort of established mood with songs and historical references and maybe even scent. Then it is a pretty messy back and forth of what I feel I want to work on and revise. I try not to be too linear, as it can make your work too stagnant when there needs to be a level of experimentation. That includes illustrating, designing, fabrics, colors, technical flats, styling, casting, editorial, film, and the list goes on. I’ll create prototypes, do fittings, revisions, and then finally go into final fabrics, where you really can be precise. Then I’ll document it all through photo and film and share the final project.