AUTUMN / WINTER 2011

Presenting you with the new season collection

Completely print focused. Inspired by colonial Africa. I hope you like it (honest comments and opinions always welcome)
An introduction through the official press release. I know that it was posted a couple of weeks ago, but to refresh your memory -

Autumn / Winter 2011 sees CHARLOTTE TAYLOR traverse down a silky wormhole of exquisite, clashing and mood-altering colours, bold contrasts and snippets of African, English Heritage and Hungarian Gypsy inspiration.
For its third season, the label has been stripped bare – focusing on the essence behind the CHARLOTTE TAYLOR charm – the weird and wonderful, the deliciously tactile, the beautifully brave – the prints.
Past prints will carry over, with new colour-ways and designs holding hands to showcase a deluxe, delectable feast for the eye.
The prints envelop duvet-sized scarves, classic silk blouses and shirts and of course the celebrated CT head scarf.
Limited edition Wallpaper prints are also a new introduction – An army of Penguins to share your bathroom with should be an addition to any self-respecting individuals’ bucket list in the 21st Century!

Photographer: Claire Pepper
Stylist: Holly Chaves
Hair and Make-up: Camilla Hewitt
Model: Jodie @ Models 1

For further Information please email me directly at charlotte@charlottetaylorltd.com

Pretty picture

The Photoshoot

So the days leading up to the shoot as are a bit of a blur - most of it however was spent sewing and/ or organizing...alone. Occasionally I get the odd visit from my cat / neckwarmer...

or dog in the studio and if im lucky, and after a seriously over exaggerated grunt and a bucket load of huffing and puffing my pop appears with a cuppa at the top of the stairs. Although most visitors are hushed out fairly rapidly - the cats claws and dogs mucky paws however, are a minor hazard compared to my fathers hanger knocking, tea spilling, back slapping (when you're sewing an intricate blouse) 6ft 3 clumsiness. He usually has a 30 second time limit.

Anyway, everything gets done and once more I pack up shop and head off to the smoke, Dick Whittington styley to meet Camilla for some last minute prep before the big day. Our final hours are spent covering buttons (mum and Camilla have a "button off" to see who can cover the most buttons. Aplaudable enthusiasm, if a little odd...) and sewing.


In the morning we are up at 6.15am to leave the flat by 7am. It is an early start as we have to go via the button man in Soho - who subsequently disses our button covering skills (he is trying to get more business off us, but our early morning sense of humour is somewhat lacking) and we leave £15 lighter and grumpy.
Lucy, one of my buddies has come along to help and we all pile in the car along with thousands of props, ironing boards, clothes and tea and hot chocolate (spilled in a rather unlucky patch on the passenger seat and all over Lucy's skirt - which whipped off as she fashions a new one from her tweed scarf - we like a proactive thinker).

In a hop, skip and a jump we are in Stoke Newington at the a hired studio. Claire (photographer) arrives, as does Holly (stylist) and Jodie (model) and her mum are there to meet us. She is awesome - perfect for our look and it is a massive relief. Phew.


Hair and make-up gets underway as Lucy and I iron and steam the collection. Holly un-loads her styling props, and there are thousands (what a star) and we begin to go through looks. Our aim is 6/7 looks and that is what we end up with.

The shoot gets going and it is clear that it is English heritage and colonial style. A lot of "wow, that's lush" are thrown around and the whole team seems happy.

We leave at the end of the day completely exhausted. Why are fashion shoots so tiring? and I more than anything am relieved.


Lucy, in her tweed skirt / scarf

I hope you love the shoot and the collection as much as I do. These are my favourite CT photos to date. 100% LUSH.

An Englishwoman in Africa

AW11 photoshoot and the prep

So its that time of year again when we shoot the lookbook for the collection. This season though it is different. Exciting different and also scary different....
As the collection is much smaller and print focused I decided that the most effective way to show them would be in a more creative photoshoot than seen in previous seasons. Hence, the new lookbook is a bit nutty/ bonkers/ amazingly wonderful and weird!
Here are the mood boards I put togeter for the team before the shoot so we were all on the same page:




For the shoot we had a very similar team to normal:
The infamous and wonderfully awesome Claire Pepper - photographer to the stars (and me)
The extraordinarily talented Camilla Hewitt - hair and make-up genius
Holly Chaves - scrumptious superstar stylist
and the lovely Jodie from Models1 who on one of her first shoots absolutely NAILED it. Watch this space my friends, this girl is going to go far!


Pictures should be up the beginning of London Fashion week, although I am so excited you might get a preview before!