“We are very much in a next-step moment,” said Talia Lipkin-Connor as she bounded up flights of stairs to her new studio, in the attic of a pre-Georgian house in East London. Once inside, the 31-year-old designer behind Talia Byre shimmied around racks full of lamé disco dresses, Dennis the Menace–style striped rugby tops, and tweed blazers. Every member of her seven-person team carried the brand’s signature Bolter bag, each personalized with charms. “This year, we’re trying to be more—what’s the word? Minimalist! Cleansing!” she said. Her team collectively tittered.
Last year was pivotal for the Warrington, England–born designer and her five-year-old brand. She was nominated for the British Fashion Council/Vogue Designer Fashion Fund, alongside Conner Ives and Dilara Fındıkoğlu, and made her official runway debut during London Fashion Week. Her show—a meditation on home and legacy that featured strong-shouldered apron dresses and psychedelic floral prints—took place on a sunny Sunday morning on an apartment rooftop. Before then, Lipkin-Connor had produced two seasonal collections a year—presented salon-style in bars and tiny bookstores—plus occasional capsule collections. After the success of her first runway show, “we decided to do one big show a year, as a way to get the word across and avoid the feeling of constant churn.” Her spring/summer collections will be on the runway every September; then the following February, she will publish a zine with contributing artists and writers riffing on those clothes.
Designer Talia Lipkin-Connor.
Lipkin-Connor always wanted to be a designer—she comes from a family of tailors, and her grandmother taught her how to sew. As an undergraduate at Central Saint Martins, she assisted at Paul Smith, then worked for McQueen before returning to the university for her graduate degree. She’s been a buzzy name on the London fashion scene since she showed her MA collection, which featured ebullient colors and deconstructed knits, in 2020. She launched Talia Byre shortly after graduation—during the pandemic, from her sister’s flat in Camden.
Model Millicent Harris.
The brand’s name is a reference to Lucinda Byre, her great-uncle Ralph’s boutique. The Liverpool shop, which operated from 1964 to 1982, catered to the city’s most fabulous women and stocked both emerging and established designers, as well as its own knitwear line. (Those knits inspired Talia Byre’s newest sweaters.) Partly influenced by Lucinda Byre, Lipkin-Connor wants to build a direct relationship with her clients. Since February, her studio has become a shop on the weekends. “The goal is to have this constant communication with our— I do hate the word ‘community,’ but, you know, that.”
Model Chloe Paraedes.
The designer is precise about who the Talia Byre customer is: She’s sensual but not sexualized, chic yet unfussy. Lipkin-Connor’s designs are inspired by British women, who can be both polite and brash, from countryside moms and the teenagers she saw loitering around Topshop when she was growing up to her own formidable grandma and the bouffant-haired women who frequented Lucinda Byre. Films and television shows that focus on strong, decisive characters are big influences too—her references include Absolutely Fabulous, Scooby-Doo, and My Cousin Vinny. Recently, Lipkin-Connor even enrolled in a documentary-making course. “It’s really important to do other stuff as a designer,” she explained. “Inspiration doesn’t come from emails and staring at the studio wall.”
Model Ben Ilamosi.
Model Liva Been.
Currently, Lipkin-Connor’s focus is on accompanying the Talia Byre woman through life’s milestones. To start, she’s expanding her current bridal offerings. “For our customer, that’s the highest retail spend that she’s going to make in her life—why wouldn’t she do it with us?” The team is reissuing looks, from structured Bambino dresses to motorcycle jackets, in white and lace. She’s also at work on her second runway collection, which, fittingly, is composed entirely of white garments with hints of candy pink and baby blue. “I want to build something with longevity and trust,” she said. “The times of randomly throwing things out into the world are gone.”
Hair by Yoko Setoyama AT Dawes; makeup by Josh Bart. Models: Liva Been and Chloe Paraedes at Next Management, Millicent Harris at Storm Management, Ben Ilamosi at Models 1, Emaan Zishan at Ford Models; Casting by Ashley Brokaw Casting; Photo Assistant: Rhys Williams; Fashion Assistant: Cordelia Watson; Hair Assistant: Chikako Shinoda; Makeup Assistant: Molly Lynch.
