Rebecca Taylor
Encyclopedia
Rebecca Taylor is a New Zealand
-born fashion designer based in New York, New York, United States
. To Americans, she is probably the most famous New Zealand designer, with her label at US and Europe
an department store
s. Her retail outlets include boutique
s in Japan
. Her company was reported in 2003 as having a US$
12 million turnover
.
. She received her initial fashion training as part of Access, a government scheme, training at the Bowerman School of Design. She then went on to study Fashion Design at Wellington Polytechnic (now Massey University). One of her first jobs on the scheme was making clothes for Peter Jackson
's Meet the Feebles
’ puppet characters. After arriving in New York with $600 to her name, she was eventually hired by fashion designer Cynthia Rowley
, under whom she worked for six years.
She débuted at New York Fashion Week
as part of the Gen Art Styles competition in the late 1990s, before doing her own catwalk show in 1999.
In January 2011, Rebecca Taylor was acquired by Kellwood Company
.
Actress Sarah Jessica Parker
is a fan of Taylor's designs and called the designer personally. Taylor reportedly thought the call from Parker was a joke. Eventually, her work would be seen on Parker's show, Sex and the City
, and on the Today show. Jennifer Lopez
, Cate Blanchett
, Kate Winslet
and Uma Thurman
have been reported as Rebecca Taylor customers.
designer in Wellington, New Zealand, and débuted her Tory Jewellery Company range at one of Rebecca Taylor's catwalk shows in New York.
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
-born fashion designer based in New York, New York, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. To Americans, she is probably the most famous New Zealand designer, with her label at US and Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an department store
Department store
A department store is a retail establishment which satisfies a wide range of the consumer's personal and residential durable goods product needs; and at the same time offering the consumer a choice of multiple merchandise lines, at variable price points, in all product categories...
s. Her retail outlets include boutique
Boutique
A boutique is a small shopping outlet, especially one that specializes in elite and fashionable items such as clothing and jewelry. The word is French for "shop", via Latin from Greek ἀποθήκη , "storehouse"....
s in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. Her company was reported in 2003 as having a US$
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
12 million turnover
Revenue
In business, revenue is income that a company receives from its normal business activities, usually from the sale of goods and services to customers. In many countries, such as the United Kingdom, revenue is referred to as turnover....
.
Background
In New Zealand, she attended St Catherine's College in WellingtonWellington
Wellington is the capital city and third most populous urban area of New Zealand, although it is likely to have surpassed Christchurch due to the exodus following the Canterbury Earthquake. It is at the southwestern tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Rimutaka Range...
. She received her initial fashion training as part of Access, a government scheme, training at the Bowerman School of Design. She then went on to study Fashion Design at Wellington Polytechnic (now Massey University). One of her first jobs on the scheme was making clothes for Peter Jackson
Peter Jackson
Sir Peter Robert Jackson, KNZM is a New Zealand film director, producer, actor, and screenwriter, known for his The Lord of the Rings film trilogy , adapted from the novel by J. R. R...
's Meet the Feebles
Meet the Feebles
Meet the Feebles is a 1989 black comedy film directed by Peter Jackson. It features Jim Henson-esque puppets in a perverse comic satire. Like Henson's Muppets, the Feebles are animal-figured puppets assembled together as members of a theatre troupe...
’ puppet characters. After arriving in New York with $600 to her name, she was eventually hired by fashion designer Cynthia Rowley
Cynthia Rowley
Cynthia Rowley is an American fashion designer. The fashion label she created in the early 1980s bears her name.-Background:...
, under whom she worked for six years.
She débuted at New York Fashion Week
Fashion Week
A fashion week is a fashion industry event, lasting approximately one week, which allows fashion designers, brands or "houses" to display their latest collections in runway shows and buyers and the media to take a look at the latest trends. Most importantly, these events let the industry know...
as part of the Gen Art Styles competition in the late 1990s, before doing her own catwalk show in 1999.
In January 2011, Rebecca Taylor was acquired by Kellwood Company
Kellwood Company
Kellwood Company designs, manufactures, and markets a growing collection of premier fashion brands across a broad range of consumer lifestyles including Vince, Rebecca Taylor, ADAM, Baby Phat, Phat Farm, Sag Harbor, Briggs NY, Jolt, and My Michelle as well as licensed brands XOXO and David Meister...
.
The label
The multi-million-dollar Rebecca Taylor label was set up by Taylor with business partner Elizabeth Bugdaycay in 2000.Actress Sarah Jessica Parker
Sarah Jessica Parker
Sarah Jessica Parker is an American film, television, and theater actress and producer.She is best known for her leading role as Carrie Bradshaw on the HBO television series Sex and the City , for which she won four Golden Globe Awards, three Screen Actors Guild Awards, and two Emmy Awards...
is a fan of Taylor's designs and called the designer personally. Taylor reportedly thought the call from Parker was a joke. Eventually, her work would be seen on Parker's show, Sex and the City
Sex and the City
Sex and the City is an American television comedy-drama series created by Darren Star and produced by HBO. Broadcast from 1998 until 2004, the original run of the show had a total of ninety-four episodes...
, and on the Today show. Jennifer Lopez
Jennifer Lopez
Jennifer Lynn Lopez is an American actress, singer, record producer, dancer, television personality, and fashion designer. Lopez began her career as a dancer on the television comedy program In Living Color. Subsequently venturing into acting, she gained recognition in the 1995 action-thriller...
, Cate Blanchett
Cate Blanchett
Catherine Élise "Cate" Blanchett is an Australian actress. She came to international attention for her role as Elizabeth I of England in the 1998 biopic film Elizabeth, for which she won British Academy of Film and Television Arts and Golden Globe Awards, and earned her first Academy Award...
, Kate Winslet
Kate Winslet
Kate Elizabeth Winslet is an English actress and occasional singer. She has received multiple awards and nominations. She was the youngest person to accrue six Academy Award nominations, and won the Academy Award for Best Actress for The Reader...
and Uma Thurman
Uma Thurman
Uma Karuna Thurman is an American actress and model. She has performed in leading roles in a variety of films, ranging from romantic comedies and dramas to science fiction and action movies. Among her best-known roles are those in the Quentin Tarantino films Pulp Fiction and Kill Bill...
have been reported as Rebecca Taylor customers.
Personal life
She is married to Wayne Pate, who was introduced to her via mutual friends. Her younger sister, Victoria Taylor, is a nationally known jewelleryJewellery
Jewellery or jewelry is a form of personal adornment, such as brooches, rings, necklaces, earrings, and bracelets.With some exceptions, such as medical alert bracelets or military dog tags, jewellery normally differs from other items of personal adornment in that it has no other purpose than to...
designer in Wellington, New Zealand, and débuted her Tory Jewellery Company range at one of Rebecca Taylor's catwalk shows in New York.