Taste Maker Chronicles
There is nothing else in Australian fashion that looks like Taylor Alexandra.
Her name is the label, which tells you exactly how personal this is. Every suit is made for one woman. Every set is unique. Feminine, sharp, unmistakably cool, and cut to follow a woman’s body rather than fight it.
This is everything women’s suiting has been waiting for.
Australian women have had two options for years: menswear shrunk down, or a suit made smaller and called sexy. Taylor built the third. Structure and softness in the same garment. Colour and pattern used with real confidence. Proportion as the entire point.
She is a designer with a genuine signature, which is rarer than the industry likes to admit. Made to measure, from Sydney to New York and many other global destinations, one client at a time. A talent this specific was always going to find its way out. TikTok simply showed her the size of the audience already waiting.
We sat down with Taylor for Taste Maker Chronicles.
Your personal style has such a strong point of view. It feels tailored, confident and instantly recognisable. Did the brand begin with people responding to the way you dressed, or was custom tailoring always something you knew you wanted to create?
Honestly, TA started by accident in a way. I started by sharing my outfits (being suits) on TikTok and people were asking where they could purchase. From there, TA was built as we flew the plane.
Tailoring can sometimes feel corporate or overly serious, but your world makes it feel modern, personal and cool. What do you think tailoring has been missing?
There has always been a very traditional view on suiting, however a lot of the formality was carried from traditional menswear. Post covid, suiting became less of a necessity and more of a choice and from there we evolved into functional suiting, whilst also creating the opportunity for women to dress for the position they want or have.
Suiting became less of a necessity and more of a choice.
Your brand and namesake Taylor Alexandra is built around individuality, confidence and refined personal style. When a client comes to you, how do you begin translating who they are into a garment?
Fashion and suiting should be an extension of self whilst also complementing the vast array of women’s bodies. TA enhances those elements whilst also creating emphasis on the power perception of suiting whilst complimenting the feminine silhouette.
We don’t see enough women in a feminine, stylish suit almost anywhere. How do you think a beautifully tailored suit makes a woman feel?
Every woman should have the opportunity to feel confident and sexy without having to wear skin tight clothing or show a lot of skin. That’s what I love about suiting. It’s an extension of your body that we work collaboratively to curate based on each personality and body, to extend and elevate self confidence.
Every woman should have the opportunity to feel confident and sexy without having to show a lot of skin.
Fit is obviously central to what you do. What is the first thing you notice when a suit or tailored piece is really working?
Proportions before anything. If the body is looking unbalanced you can see the hesitation in self expression.
You draw inspiration from the energy of New York and the relaxed sophistication of Sydney. How do those two worlds show up in your own wardrobe and in the pieces you create?
NYC and Sydney are such conflicting beasts when you look beyond the surface. NYC is all about self expression and not giving a f**k about what anyone thinks, and I find Sydney to be quite the opposite. Being a born and bred Sydney girl, I can say that Australia as a whole is quite conscious of the opinions of others.
My goal is to allow women to create beautiful garments without feeling like a peacock. This is moreso done via fit as opposed to colour and pattern. It’s funny, most of my suits are boring colours that I style in my regular rotation with jeans, however I have my fun colours and patterns for when I want to make a statement. I love the versatility.
My goal is to allow women to create beautiful garments without feeling like a peacock.
Who is your dream person to create for, and what would you want to make for them?
I wish I could go back in time and make a suit for my grandma and Carla Zampatti. They are two of my biggest fashion inspirations. As for a celebrity, I would probably pass out if I could make one for Drew Barrymore and one for Alix Earle. Drew because she’s a suit slayer, and Alix because she inspires me daily to keep pumping out the content.
What is one treasured fashion item you own, and why does it mean so much to you?
When my grandma passed away, she left me all her old blazers, before she knew I made the decision to go into suiting. And an honourable mention to my fob chain that’s been passed down for generations that I’ve been wearing since I was 12 years old. This is also a subtle ode to pocket watches and early men’s suiting.
She left me all her old blazers, before she knew I had decided to go into suiting.
So much fashion now is fast, trend-led and disposable. What made you want to build something around craftsmanship, precision and pieces made with real intention?
I refer back to my previous note about my grandma’s blazers. Good quality garments will last you a lifetime and suits are timeless. I also love the versatility of a suit, you’ve got two to four separate pieces in one, so you’re not just purchasing a formal set, you’ve got pants, a jacket, waistcoat, shirts, for all occasions. If you take care of your garments, they should last you a lifetime.
Taste Maker Chronicles is about people shaping culture through instinct, expertise and point of view. What do you think your taste is ultimately trying to protect?
Self expression, empowerment, confidence.
Taylor Alexandra
Made-to-measure tailoring, Sydney and New York
Fittings and enquiries at thetayloralexandra.com
Follow at @thetayloralexandra
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