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Eco-conscious fashion designer Hillary Taymour launched her sustainable fashion brand, Collina Strada, circa 2008.
With an Associates Degree in Product Development and Bachelors in Business Management from The Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising, equestrian turned-fashion designer Hillary Taymour studied iconic fashion brands such as Maison Martin Margiela, Proenza Schoulder, Prada, Lanvin, Hermes, and Balenciaga before launching her eco-conscious fashion brand, Collina Strada, circa 2008. The beginning was modest. Hillary began with a small collection for her friends. Inspired by the encouragement and success, she transformed her passion into a full-fledged career as a fashion designer and focused on distinct textures, sharp detailing and original styles which are a cross between vintage and modern. Luck was on her side. The collections caught-and held-the attention of potential consumers, fashion editors and retailers.
Sustainability and transparency is the founding stone of her label but she presents in a light, fun way so people can relate and embrace sustainability as a way of life. A few examples are printed deadstock materials, upcycled tie-dye sweatshirts and rhinestone-encrusted water bottles. How doe she make it fun and still drive the eco-conscious message home? Well, For SS20, a semi-nude fashion model ran down Collina Strada’s runway, with “waste not, want not”, painted all over her body!! “What’s going on with the planet is serious — we know that. Let’s talk about it in a way that doesn’t sound so depressing and apocalyptic. No one’s going to change the way they live if it isn’t represented in a fun way,” she told Vogue.
For AW20, Taymour undertook a new upcycled fabric project in partnership with The OR, an organization that repurposes used clothing; for this collection, the organization brought several T-shirts back from Ghana for Taymour, who repurposed them to make dresses for her collection. A CFDA Member since 2021, Collina Strada is described as ‘a platform for social issues and awareness… Based in New York, the brand’s core signature transcends trends. Taymour offers easy-to-wear clothes imbued with a fearlessly fluid attitude, re-inventing classics and unexpected details. Collina Strada embodies humor and youth… Season after season, the Collina Strada goal remains the same: to encourage self-reflection through clothing and to be the best version of yourself today.
Today, Collina Strada continues to remain true to its values, appreciated by the best in the business. On SS23, WWD wrote, “Collina Strada’s Hillary Taymour corralled what is perhaps her biggest audience yet to the edge of South Williamsburg, where she unleashed a procession of ‘butterflies.’ Inspired by milkweed and its life support for an ecosystem of caterpillars, moths and butterflies…”
At Collina Strada, the team believes that inspiration is found off the beaten path. The fashion brand’s original fabrics are influenced by vintage prints with a twist of modern design aesthetic, that subsequently result in unique modern accessories characterised by quality construction and shapes, brilliant colors and detailing.
Sustainability is a journey for fashion brand Collina Strada. It is a platform for climate awareness, social awareness, change and self expression.
Apparel and accessories
Founder fashion designer Hillary Taymour
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