Tanya Taylor seemed to take Lenny Kravitz’s “I want to get away” lyric to heart for spring, creating an escapist collection in pretty gelato colors that she imagined destined for Il Pelicano. Part of the appeal for the designer and painter was that this storied Tuscan hotel, immortalized by Slim Aarons, also attracts creatives. It would be easy to read this offering as the vacation wardrobe of the resort season’s heroine, a painter, except that you wouldn’t want to spill paint on a linen dress with hand embroidered mirrors, and it’s hard to imagine a dress with a giant flower center front being destined for an atelier. Yet, overall the shapes were simplified and many of Taylor’s fabric choices, such as warped patterns, watercolor florals, and a multi toned material the team named “mystic haze” had a kind of softness suggestive of the relaxed state she was after. If vacation isn’t the time for coloring outside the lines, when is? A navy top and pants set edged in white —“I wanted to try eyelet, but in a bold way so it didn’t feel too girly,” noted Taylor—was arguably the most Italianate look in the collection. Che bello!
