Is millennial nostalgia expanding to make room for grunge and glam?
Thats what Tanya Taylors been observing.
It takes its name from her alter ego.
Photo: Courtesy of Delphine
Taylor was a BCom major at McGill University applying for a place at Parsons when Delphine emerged.
I was broken up with my now-husband and I was very sad, she remembers.
Pratte, she explains, is my husbands name.
Tanya Taylor’s Delphine word portrait.
Whats funny is that Delphine is the name my friends call me when I am a little bit extra.
Its kind of come full-circle where I felt like that personality was strong enough to build a brand around.
Tanya Taylors Delphine word portrait.
An inspiration sketch for Delphine.
An inspiration sketch for Delphine.
It wasnt about limos and the Upper East Side, it was really more downtown and a bit cooler.
Tanya Taylors sketch of the Delphine Estrella dress.
Tanya Taylor’s sketch of the Delphine Estrella dress.
Delphine:Estrella dress
Delphine: Charlotte dress
Tanya Taylors sketch of the Delphine Tess dress.
Whats interesting right now is how so many girls are getting to know vintage again.
They are like, Whats Bill Blass?
Delphine:Estrella dress
I have a big archive of those kinds of old vintage pieces that have inspired me.
Delphine: Molly gown
Delphine: Lucy gown
As always, Taylor used herself as a test subject.
As a 38-year-old with an active social life, the designer wanted options other than cut-outs and ruffles.
Delphine: Charlotte dress
More dramatic is the strapless Rhett gown with its side wing/pannier shape.
For some reason glamour is back in peoples minds.
Theyre seeing those clothes and theyre seeing how people had fun and I think they want it again.
Tanya Taylor’s sketch of the Delphine Tess dress.
And theres also a whole new nightlifeNew York is on fire.
There are so many new clubs.
Take Chez Margaux, she said.
Delphine: Molly gown
There are no jeans, there are no T-shirts.
The designer says that she and her friends dress up even for small at-homes.
Her ladder climbing is one variant of the American Dream.
Delphine: Lucy gown
Taylors manifesting, is perhaps, another.
When I first came to New York, I needed the Delphine life, she said.
Ill never forget our first fashion show; we had it at the MoMA.
Delphine: Rhett dress
Send me your list.
I literally had four friends; finance bros I went to McGill with and two girlfriends.
The cool publicist was like, show me your people.
Delphine: Olivia dress
Im like, you show me your people.
I developed some comfort in feeling like she was this kind of imaginary plus-one.
Fast forward about 15 years and social media has made a double life/alter-ego/persona the norm.
Delphine: Angela gown
Delphine labels in pretty colors.
Delphine: Angela gown
Delphine: Meredith dress
Delphine: Cleo gown
Delphine: Cleo dress
Delphine: Mia dress
Delphine: Evie dress
Delphine: Charlotte dress
Delphine: Vivian dress
Delphine: Tess dress
Delphine: Stephanie dress
Delphine: Stephanie dress
Delphine: Cassandra dress
Delphine: Cyn dress
Delphine: Laney dress
Delphine: Annette dress
Delphine: Annette dress
“I have an alter ego, I have a very fun side, I’m nocturnal, I love dancing and having fun with my friends,” says Tanya Taylor who has just launched a new line of party dresses called Delphine. “Those days from 2007 to 2009, when I had just moved to New York have left an imprint on me.It was a really vibrant [time] and it defined a version of myself as a creative.”
Delphine labels in pretty colors.
