Textile World with Tara Babylon FW ’23 at NYFW
By Stacy Kim | @stacy.kimm
New York Fashion Week is not about simply releasing a showcase for the designs, but designers are now adding a unique touch of performance to leave a lasting impact on viewers. For fashion designer Tara Babylon, this meant celebrating her new FW23 collection at an intimate gallery with a dance presentation for her colorful textile designs.
At the start of her career, Tara wanted to turn old t-shirts into luxury items, and she eventually created an eco-friendly fashion brand. Given her British background, Tara was inspired by the grungy, rocky aesthetic from British punk culture and added her take on vibrant colors and woven designs. The designs are mainly made with fabrication and textile, which creates the popping textures. The modeled look above features a woven-inspired look that is distinct in contrasting the black and mustard yellow colors.
Exploring her collection further, Tara Babylon designs from her past collection are also seen on models incorporating a variety of styles that range from weaved fabric to leather to vintage textiles. Tara’s designs are not limited to darker punk colors, but they explore brighter pastel colors, as well (seen on the model to the left).
Tara drew her inspiration from her British culture and created a brand that supports sustainability. Speaking to Tara herself, she shared her vision of creating a “Tara Babylon textile world” and revealed her favorite piece from her new collection to be the displayed look as seen in the picture below.
This artisanal carpet coat was specially hand-woven using techniques from South Asia and consisted of a mix of materials. Half of the 100% wool coat was made from vegetable dye, and the lining was transformed from old t-shirts. The texture of the coat and its vivid mix of colors welcomed everyone into the gallery at the entrance of the presentation.
Along with the displayed collection in the gallery, there was a special performance-style presentation of Tara Babylon dresses featuring vintage fabrics and bands like Nirvana and Rolling Stones. The corset portion of the dress and the combination with the plaid, fringe look reminded viewers of the 1970-1980s punk culture.
All photographs credited to Stacy Kim at NYFW and CFDA Runway360 for lookbook.