Meet Taylor Rose Hertz

Today we’d like to introduce you to Taylor Rose Hertz.

Every artist has a unique story. Can you briefly walk us through yours?
Unlike most of the Fashion Design students that I knew in College, I didn’t always know what I wanted to be when I grew up. Growing up, I worked retail at Nordstroms and always enjoyed drawing, painting, and crafting. I went to the University of Missouri to study Fashion Design to see if that’s what I wanted to do with my life and also get the normal “college experience.” But, soon learned that it wasn’t for me. Fitting in has always been difficult, so I decided to dedicate any and all of my time into my passion. I fell in love with sewing in the first course I took at Mizzou and that was it for me. I finally knew what I wanted to be when I grew up: I wanted to be a Fashion Designer.

Once I really knew that I wanted to be a Fashion Designer, I went out, bought a sewing machine, taught myself how to sew and sketch outside of my courses and began my journey. After a year at Mizzou, I decided the best thing for me would be to transfer to a fashion focused school and so I transferred to the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising. My schedule was mostly going to classes and then coming home and practicing every day. I always had side projects of making clothes for myself, family, and friends. After receiving my AA in Fashion Design from FIDM, I stayed for a third year, participating in the Menswear Advanced Study program, where I figured I would learn some new skills and return back to women’s wear. While in the menswear program, I designed a mini collection of Mens Suit Separates and started my own company, Vertical City. I loved designing Mens Suits because there are so many small and hidden details to consider while maintaining a traditional suit look and creating your own style. At the end of the program, I knew that I wanted to continue designing menswear. FIDM put on a showcase at the end of the Menswear Program, where they invited several industry specialists. At our showcase, I spoke to many people working at different companies including the HR team from Vince. Later that summer the HR employee I had met at my show mentioned an internship opportunity at Vince and after several interviews, I got the job! I was excited to be at a dream company and have the opportunity to work hard and prove myself. Several months into the job, the assistant designer position opened up. I was asked to step up and help out more, along with a long interview process, that resulted in my boss taking a huge chance on me and giving me the promotion!

I am currently working at Vince as the Assistant Designer of Wovens on the Menswear team. I feel so lucky to be learning from my boss, teacher, mentor, and now friend Deborah Sabet. She always pushes me to improve new skills while really teaching me every step of the way. I would not be where I am right now without her and I am lucky to be working with such an amazing design team that has become my family. It is nice to have a place where I finally feel like I fit in a while getting to do what I love.

As my journey continues, I hope to grow and learn about the Industry as much as I can until one day in the future, I can start my own clothing line under Taylor Rose Brands. I eventually want to design Mens Suit Separates that are tasteful, comfortable and unique while keeping the traditional appeal of a suit.

Life is full of surprises, but like most aspiring Fashion Designers, I hope to get to a point where I can start my own company. However, I love where I am right now and am not ready for that to change. My “right now” plan is to focus on learning and growing in the industry and staying open minded to what life has to offer me. It is important to me to work hard and gain a lot of experience learning from not only myself, but from my coworkers as well. I know that I have a lot to learn and that gaining knowledge is a lifelong process.

Please tell us about your art.
My art is Fashion Design. While I design for Vince, in my spare time, I design, draft patterns, source fabric and sew projects from start to finish. Designing a collection starts with an inspiration that flows through the group of clothing like a story. For example, a mini collection that I created was inspired solely by origami. The inspiration is told through the collection in different aspects and ideas but still flow together as one. What inspires me most through my designs along with origami is architecture. Architecture and origami both have something in common: they have so many details that you can only really appreciate if you look closely, while from a distance the details fade away and it is still something beautiful. Creating something that is unique and recognizable as my design is something that I am very passionate about. Along with designing the clothing, I also work on designing custom prints and patterns for my fabric; this is something that I love to do and really makes my art unique and my own.

Given everything that is going on in the world today, do you think the role of artists has changed? How do local, national or international events and issues affect your art?
I think that in today’s world, comfort is important and not everyone is comfortable in a traditional suit every day. Businessmen are sitting at desks for long hours, walking around a lot and want to feel comfortable along with looking a certain way. I want to design Suit Separates that are not only comfortable to wear and be in all day, but also give the professional appearance that a suit brings to the workplace. The generation I grew up with enjoys looking and feeling like their own person, by wearing clothes that help them to stand out as individuals. My art is designed specifically to give new takes on traditional styles that are visually appealing and different.

It is also really important to me to be environmentally conscious, especially since I became certified in Sustainability through extra courses at FIDM. Many fashion companies have so much waste and are extremely bad for the environment, but there are always ways to improve the vast amount of waste created. There are many fabrics that you can choose from that are environmentally friendly, along with watching water usages and always recycling. It is important to me that when I start my own company, it will be in a way that is environmentally conscious.

How or where can people see your work? How can people support your work?
You can view my work at:
Website: http://www.taylorrose.design
Design Instagram: @TaylorRose.VericalCity

Other Contact Info:
Personal Instagram: @TaylorRose.Hertz
Email: [email protected]

Contact Info:

• Website: http://www.taylorrose.design
• Email: [email protected]
• Instagram: TaylorRose.VerticalCity, TaylorRose.Hertz

Image Credit:
Photographer Credits: Ashley Hertz and L8nightkof.
Model Credits: Ben Butler, Lauren Dascalo, Justin Hertz, Ashley Hobson, Emily Kjell, Melanie Romero, and Shane Sandler.

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