Steven Tai
It wouldn’t be unusual to see Canadian designer Steven Tai’s pieces in any fashion slash arthouse
publication from the UK (take notes, POP magazine!). The brand is completely on another level of
machination and imagination when it comes to fashion – Tai’s Spring/Summer 2013 is novella hipster
meets weirdly proportioned prep meets Dallas Green’s eyewear collection. It’s a lot of elements that
coalesce into future librarian chic; something that music + style icons Bjork or Florence Welch would
wholly appreciate.
But, Tai comes from humble beginnings, describing his bookish nerd SS’13 collection as deeply
personal. His ties to the fashion industry are intrinsic though, with his family working in the garment
manufacturing business even before he was born. Though he didn’t take much interest in the family
business, he says it had a strong impact once he decided to move out of studying commerce and
into a more creative field. Japan is also a big Tai influence, with the more avant-garde artistes like Rei
Kawakubo of Comme des Garcons as inspirations for his budding label.
For this coming Fall/Winter 2014, Tai wants to focus on colourblocking on sports and skiwear, a
la late 80’s/early 90’s. Besides that, there’s going to be juxtapositions with everyday garments (shirts,
trousers) with unconventional materials like silicone. This decade is all about the fashion remix, and
Tai’s reinvention of classic imagery is sure to be show-stopping. More importantly, it’ll be all Steven Tai
– personality is what makes the clothes, and judging by all his other collections, these coming pieces
will be bursting at the seams.