Exclusive Interview With Sarah Jessica Parker And Kate Middleton’s …

K-Middy, Alexa Chung, Taylor Swift and Whitney Port are all Rebecca Taylor fans

We’ve always thought we’d LOVE New Zealand-born New York-based designer Rebecca Taylor, but meeting her yesterday to talk through her holiday collection it became official – Grazia‘s got a girl crush. The 40 year old mother-of-three is as divine as her clothes are gorgeous – and after years of living in the UK when she was a kid, she’s got a killer Brit sense of humour, too. In the past few months her profile has upped in this country because of Kate Middleton choosing a blue tweed past-season skirt suit for the Scott-Amundsen Centenary Race, but she’s been a A-list fixture in the wardrobes of SJP and Alexa Chung for yonks. Naturellement, it wouldn’t be a good Grazia hook-up without a little QA…

Grazia Daily: Have you always been interested  in fashion?

Rebecca Taylor: In New Zealand you had to be quite resourceful. There weren’t tons of fashion stores, so I always used to customise and make a lot of my own clothes. I decided you don’t have to be rich to look good! At one point I was obsessed with David Bowie’s red stilettos but could I find a pair? No! So I bought a pair of bridal white courts, painted them with nail varnish and had to keep topping them up all evening as they kept chipping!

And how did you get into design school?

I left school at fifteen and was kicked out of a convent school for wearing makeup and doing my hair with lots of hair gel like Simon Le Bon. Well, it was the eighties! I was originally studying costume design but then moved over to fashion and overnight my life changed. I didn’t realise at the time that it could be my future, but I had been making my own clothes for so long.

What was your aim when you first went to New York for work?

I left New Zealand three days after I graduated design school. I was actually on my way to Paris with my boyfriend when I came to the states.  I was really young and green when I moved to NYC and I think that allowed me to take risks without over analysing them.  And the rest is history….

When was the first moment where you thought ‘this could be something big’?

I think there were a lot of moments, but being nominated for the Swarovski Young Designer Award by the CFDA was definitely a big one.
 
How does it feel when you see someone like SJP or Alexa Chung rock up in a Rebecca Taylor piece?

It’s really exciting to see celebrities that are style icons like SJP or Alexa wear Rebecca Taylor, but I still get just as excited when I see women on the street in Rebecca Taylor. Kirstin Dunst really gets the brand, she’s got that ironic feminine and boyish fashion mix going on.

Would you ever go up to someone on the street and say ‘that’s my collection!’?

No, I’m so shy!

What do you think the effect has been after Kate Middleton wore a skirt suit of yours? Did you see her as a Rebecca Taylor kind of girl beforehand?

The response from the press and consumer has been amazingly positive. I have always loved Kate Middleton, in fact as soon as she came on the scene I said ‘I want to dress her’.  She is very much the RT woman – sophisticated, modern and smart. The pieces she wore [the blue tweed skirt suit] were from a previous season but there will still some online – they sold out within minutes and even anything similar sold out quickly. It’s crazy!

Do you have an all-time favourite piece?

A cotton eyelet Victorian-esque blouse from a few seasons ago, sort of quintessential Rebecca Taylor.

What is the next step for your business? Is there anything left that you feel you want to conquer?

Yes, I feel there is so much room for opportunity within different categories for the brand – I would love to do swim and lingerie. 

Yes please! So, if you weren’t a fashion designer, what do you think you’d be doing?

A make-up artist if my hands weren’t so shaky!

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Prospective Sirens attend tryout

It’s full speed ahead for Saskatoon’s fledgling Lingerie Football League team, despite controversy when the concept was announced.

The Saskatoon Sirens held their last open tryout Saturday at the SaskTel Sports Centre. Now it’s up to the team and the Las Vegas-based league to put together a 20-woman roster that can back up their claims that quality football and athleticism will keep fans watching.

“It is football first and foremost, because nobody is going to come and watch a lack of talent or a lack of athleticism on a football field,” said Chris Lambiris, who led the tryouts for the LFL. The sentiment is in line with the LFL’s messaging since the team was first announced in February. League officials have insisted the lingerie aspect of the league is a marketing tool that complements a high-level competitive football product.

Based on Saturday’s tryout, the Sirens’ coaching staff will have their work cut out for them. A total of nine women showed up, with one dropping out a few minutes into the workout. The remaining eight were all quite athletic, but their level of football experience was very low.

“A lot of them have sports backgrounds, just not football. The athletic ability is there,” Lambiris said.

According to Lambiris, around 40 women have come out to the tryouts and practices held by the Sirens so far. By the end of June, the team will be down to the final group of 20. Once the roster is finalized, the first few team sessions will focus on the mental aspects of the game, starting at Square 1: The rules.

“(It’s) as simple as understanding the rules of four-down football, because it is different than CFL football. Even though a lot of the people tonight have watched the Riders play, have watched CFL, (LFL) is indoors, it’s on a smaller field and it’s 7-on-7,” he said.

From there it’s a matter of shaping the women’s athletic abilities into football skills in time for the season’s start in September.

“We’ve got two months and I think we can close that gap because we’ve got a lot of dedicated girls who have come out,” Lambiris said.

The women who attended Saturday’s tryout were excited about the possible opportunities the LFL could provide.

“I’ve never played football before, but I love football. I’m a huge Riders fan and I’ve always liked the sport. I think it’s a good opportunity for women to get a start in football. You don’t have to have any experience, or at least they didn’t say you needed to,” said Candace Friesen, who drove in from Dalmeny to try out.

She admitted there will be a steep learning curve if she makes the team.

“When you’ve never played football, you’re not used to getting knocked down or having to knock other people down,” she said. That’s on top of having to adapt to playing in the league’s trademark equipment setup. An LFL uniform is essentially a bikini with shoulder pads and a football helmet.

For Friesen, being scantily clad in front of a crowd could be as big a challenge as learning the playbook.

“It’s not really something I’m really used to. I’ve been working out without a shirt on, just in a sports bra, to get used to seeing myself without a shirt on,” she said.

At the same time, Friesen was quick to shrug off any negative moral implications associated with the dress code, choosing instead to focus on the athletic aspect.

“Come try out. It actually takes a lot of skill and agility. If you have a moral objection, don’t watch,” she said.

Come September in Saskatoon, when the Sirens strap on their blue-and-aqua uniforms, they will put to the test whether fans will watch – whether for the skimpy uniforms, the love of football or some combination.

The Canadian division of the LFL has four teams – in Saskatoon, Regina, Vancouver and Toronto – announced for its first season this fall. In addition to the United States league, which is already in operation, there are plans to expand the LFL to Australia in 2013.

strembath@thestarphoenix.com

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