We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Tara Babylon a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Tara, appreciate you joining us today. How did you learn to do what you do? Knowing what you know now, what could you have done to speed up your learning process? What skills do you think were most essential? What obstacles stood in the way of learning more?

It was important for me to train from the best environments that were possible for me. That in itself takes figuring out. My favourite fashion designers were all coming out of one place, and that was central saint martins in London so i needed to go there too. It took me years of rejection to get accepted, what would have sped up those years for me honestly would have been feedback. But feedback is so hard to get, they refused due to the number of applicants etc. Finally i was accepted, during my time being a student at saint martins in London & at Parsons in New York i experienced the fundamental final moments of my creative development. Freedom & constructive criticism. Being able to make mistakes and explore is fundamental for growth, but freedom and experimentation in an environment where you can get feedback and constructive criticism nurtures and propels your development more than you could imagine. I believe this is what helped me with my textiles and design process during my masters and in the lead up to me starting my brand.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

I am a British-Iraqi designer & performance artist based in New York. The Motto of my brand is “injecting fun, craft & sass into luxury fashion one safety pin at a time”. I worked in the UK as a nighclub performer and designed costumes for performance artists, i even danced alongside Lady Gaga in India. The ethos of my label is luxury and gender-fluid clothing with a large emphasis on color, craft and textiles. Performance, textiles and art are a big part of the inspiration behind Tara Babylon all while referencing Babylon itself in playful ways. The craftsmanship within the brand focuses heavily on hand-made techniques in order to keep the artisanal element alive. Weave, print, rug making and crochet are common techniques used within the label. I am known for, crocheting with safety pins, elastic weaving and my viral rug coat which was worn by DOJACAT on MTV: the piece i am most proud of! I strongly believe in inclusivity in the work place and within my campaigns. I’m focused on always maintaining a level of sustainability and ethics within my company and the way i operate, including who i choose to work and the models i cast. I have designed boots from recycled car tires, and have made a ballgown out of old T-shirts. I love the challenge of turning ordinary things into extravagant and beautiful items. It is important for me to also enjoy the journey and be playful. There are alot of problems in the world today and i don’t think fashion needs to be one of them.

How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?

I think society can support artists better by crediting them when they share or post their work for a start! It starts with small things like that to enable people to get the recognition they deserve. Go to their stores and shows, take a friend, word of mouth is so impactful to a small business. Please buy from smaller or independent businesses and share it with your people it really does help and support! Even if it is the cheapest item in the store. I also think that there should be a fairer outlook on shared work to some extent. When something beautiful is created by an artist or designer there is this expectation that they must loan it for photoshoots for free, Why should it be so accessible to use for free in this day and age where everything is so expensive and costly, packaging and shipping isn’t free.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

I would hope the story that illustrates my resilience also illustrates to others that anything can be possible. There has been alot of difficult experiences but the stand-out one was right before getting accepted into central caint martins in london i had a series of events happen. I worked in nightclubs for a long time and the lifestyle became too much so i stopped as i was not sleeping well or taking care of my health. I also stopped working as a fashion assistant to make better money in Harrods on the shop floor. In addition to Harrods i worked evenings as a server in a bar. I was seriously considering a different career path entirely because i was drained and wanted to give up on my dreams, it was so hard to get good salary jobs in fashion in the UK. Starting my own fashion company felt so impossible and out of reach. I also didn’t know how to finance a masters degree. The tipping point was when i collapsed in Harrods from chronic pain and found out i had endometriosis. I needed surgery right away. I felt like i had to pick between ever being a mother or being a fashion designer. Notheless i was single, so mother was not an option! I focused on recovering and on the career i really wanted as a designer. I finally got accepted into central saint martins and was so determined to change my life because i refused to go back to where i had been. I used all my nightlife exepriences and implemented all that fuel into my fashion design work. I ended up getting a scholarship to do my masters in New York City, and i make sure i eat and sleep well. The rest is history. I am now taking better care of my mental & physical health so that my endometriosis does not flare up again. But going through those moments in my life really made me appreciate the wins and made me understand the hard way that i need to pace myself healthily. Without good health you can’t do anything, and nothing is worth having if it means sacrificing your mental or physical wellbeing.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.tarababylon.com
• Instagram: @tarababylon
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tarababylon
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tara-babylon/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/beautyfFLY

Image Credits
Photographer: Hope Glassel @hmgphoto Photographer: Gabriel Ponton @pontonph Photographer: Gabriela Gum @iamgabrielagum Photographer: @manifaith.creative Production: Danielle Juliao @danielle.work_ Prop design: Alexandra Anez @aleanez Art direction: Anna Panova @six.pianos Light Design: Florencia Lechin @florenciaaaa___ Light Design: Nicholas Byrne @recyclereality @nicholasbyrne_ Makeup: New York Makeup Academy @newyorkmakeupacademy Hair: Cutler Salon @cutlersalon Hair: Jaylin + Team @jaxandking Model: Mamiko @mamiko.nakatsugawa Model: Kylie @kylie.shae_ Model: Darnell @d.anthony_ Model: Becca @beccacrosse Model: Bentley @itsb3ntl3ybish Model: Shan @shannewart Model: Julien @julienlevelw PR: @loftcreativegroup