Meet designer Tanya Taylor: Taylor Swift, Michelle Obama and more wear hot brand's dresses in Hamptons and on red carpet

Tanya Taylor’s hand-painted designs have become synonymous with Hamptons parties and glamorous vacations. The Toronto-based designer launched the eponymous brand in 2012, which The Cut fittingly described as “the fashion girl’s answer to Lilly Pulitzer.” It’s now sold at Saks, Bergdorf Goodman and Neiman Marcus. In 2017, the brand began offering extended sizes up to a 22 after designing a custom dress for Saturday Night Live and Shrill star Aidy Bryant.

The line quickly became known for its vacation-ready colorful sundresses with cheerful prints, from oranges to modern-day toiles. Fans of the brand can even accessorize their brightly colored wrap dresses with matching Blair Waldorf-worthy headbands and bow scrunchies.

Most recently, the designer premiered a video encouraging her followers to vote with a little help from her celebrity friends including Hillary Clinton and Mindy Kaling.

And if you can't afford her dresses, which tend to fall in the $400 - $700 range, her colorful creations are also available on Rent the Runway.

She quickly amassed a whole slew of celebrity fans, including Lady Gaga, Michelle Obama, Beyonce, Huma Abedin, and Aidy Bryant - just to name a few.

Taylor Swift opted for the cotton candy Ariela dress while behind-the-scenes on her ‘You Need to Calm Down’ video. She previously wore the brand’s millennial pink style while she celebrated Easter with family. Jennifer Garner chose the red Blaire dress to celebrate Easter with her own family.

We caught up with the designer to find out how the Hamptons inspire her, her favorite celebrity to dress and what she wears on vacation.

You’ve been spending so much time in the Hamptons lately and your designs seem to fit in perfectly. What is it about The Hamptons that inspires your designs?

"I spend almost every weekend of the summer in the Hamptons. When I think of what I want to wear during the summer out East, it's a beautiful, flowy sundress that makes me feel put together but is unfussy. When I’m in the Hamptons I am makeup free, super relaxed but still polished. I’m running around, from friends houses to playing soccer in the Amagansett square to candlelit beach dinners, and I like to spend my time enjoying each day and not thinking of having to change outfits.

This devil-may-care summer lifestyle definitely impacts how I design for my Spring and Pre-Fall collections, because I want the clothing to be easy and breezy and be able to travel with you - wherever you go.

And saying that, a lot of your designs have also become vacation go-tos. What do you wear on vacation? What are your go-tos?

"I love a theme and I definitely dress depending on my surroundings, so what I pack depends on where I’m going. I like to travel in jeans, a cute easy top and either a ballet flat or a little kitten heel.

In my suitcase, I always try to bring items that can be used for multiple outfits and don’t wrinkle easily. Printed button-downs and easy knit dresses are some of my must haves.

So many cool celebs have worn your designs, from Michelle Obama to Beyonce and Taylor Swift. What were some of your favorite celebrity moments when you spotted A-listers in your designs?

"I get just as excited seeing someone walking down the street wearing my designs as I do seeing a celebrity wearing us. The team calls it 'TT in the wild'!

Some of my favorite moments were creating custom pieces for Michelle Obama and Aidy Bryant. They are both exceptional women and I felt so thankful that they wanted me to dress them.

Most recently, the body-positive influencer and Megababe founder, Katie Sturino did a 'Super Size The Look’ feature wearing the exact same Tanya Taylor dress as Jennifer Garner. We saw a huge uptick on Instagram and [with] our website sales and got amazing feedback from followers.

I think seeing two women who are different sizes wearing the same dress side by side was really impactful for a lot of women."

What made you decide to start offering extended sizes? I love that your brand does when so many don’t right now.

"There were a few different reasons I started to do extended sizing, but the catalyst was I when I was connected with Aidy Bryant to create a custom look for her for an event.

We started talking about how when she goes in for SNL fittings, she sees other stars like Kate McKinnon with racks of colorful, fun clothing and she would have one rack with very limited options. I had seen the problem early on with the lack of fashion clothing available for extended sized women.

I would watch my mom, who is a size 14, getting ready and there was such a difference between how she would dress for work and how she would dress on the weekends. There weren’t many fashionable work wear options in her size and her confidence would drastically shift because of it.

After talking to Aidy, the lack of inclusive sized brands really clicked and I decided I wanted to change that."

Who’s your dream celebrity to dress?

"There are so many women I’m inspired by, it’s impossible to choose just one! Right now, I’m really impressed with Jameela Jamil. She's such an honest, powerful voice breaking through the industry and I would love to dress her."

Shop Tanya Taylor's pieces below

Tanya Taylor Ariela Dress

This dress is the exact version that Taylor Swift wore.

$695 | Farfetch | Buy it now

Tanya Taylor Melena Jacket

$595 | Tanya Taylor | Buy it now

Tanya Taylor New Blaire Wrap Dress

$545 | Farfetch | Buy it now

Tanya Taylor Goa Top

$295 | Tanya Taylor | Buy it now