How did an under-the-radar Canadian designer win the approval of Raf Simons, Phoebe Philo and Karl Lagerfeld? We report on what makes Thomas Tait fashion’s new golden boy.

When fashion royalty like Phoebe Philo, Raf Simons and Kaiser Karl all come to meet you and scrutinise your work (as judges of the LVMH Prize for Young Fashion Designers – the luxury group’s inaugural incubator project for emerging fashion talents worldwide), it can be overwhelming. One nominee reportedly had to lie down to deal with the tension.

To a young upstart, the prize is not unlike winning a fashion lottery: There’s the 300,000 euros (S$502,000) winner’s cheque, plus invaluable mentorship by the company’s executives. Amid all the nerves in the room, one of the 12 finalists (from more than 1,000 applicants) managed to keep his cool. His name: Thomas Tait, a 26-year-old Canadian who started his namesake womenswear label in London three years ago.

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Unlike some of his competition, such as Simone Rocha, Vika Gazinskaya and Suno, chances are, you might not have heard of his name. Tait is no social media fiend – he’s slow on Instagram and Twitter, and doesn’t get much press. Rather, think of Tait as a critic’s favourite and a designer’s designer, whose loyal fans include architect Zaha Hadid (his S/S ’13 show was held at her gallery), journalist Sarah Mower (she was the one who egged him on to join the competition) and milliner Stephen Jones (he was one of the judges who picked him for the Dorchester Collection Fashion Prize in 2010).

His clothes are hard to procure too, with only around 10 niche boutiques like Louis Boston in Massachusetts and 10 Corso Como (Milan) stocking them. But overnight, Tait became the most famous emerging designer when he was named the winner of the LVMH Prize, despite being the dark horse.

When I met him a few days before his F/W ’14 show at the Audi Fashion Festival in May, the designer was a picture of nonchalance. Never mind that the result for the prize was to be announced the following week. “It was all right,” he says matter-of-factly when asked about coming face to face with luminaries such as Philo and Simons. “There are so many people to meet in such a short period of time that it can get a little puzzling. I’m usually quite relaxed in these situations. I don’t get freaked out. You kind of remember everyone is human and you take the opportunity to know someone rather than panic.”  In person, he is reed thin, with alabaster skin. His androgynous features are more defined with his long blonde knotted hair. His outfit of choice for the 20-minute interview: a white kimono shirt from his Pre-fall collection this year, which he paired with blue jeans, Teva sandals and socks.

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That unassuming disposition and personality sums up the image of his brand too. Unlike his peers Rocha or Meadham Kirchhoff et al, there are no eccentricities, overt flirtatiousness, brashness or antics about his work – qualities one tends to associate with London designers. The pieces are usually pared down, almost severe at times. Fall’s collection, for instance, features exaggerated proportions on coats, while jackets come with nipped waists a la Mugler. The latter is partly Tait’s reaction to the way women dress in his hood. “I’m based in East London where the slightly grungy and floppy look is the standard for girls, it’s a bit tired. There’s too much floppiness going on.”

At the core, Tait is about proportion, construction and lots of handwork. “My sisters always get annoyed with me because I’ll be touching them without realising it when I talk to them. I’m just a very tactile person,” he says.

That technical side of him was honed during his diploma days at the Lasalle College in his native Montreal, where he excelled in draping and sketching. He flopped, however, when it came to things like digital pattern cutting. “Draping on a computer? That I don’t understand. It’s a crazy idea. I have to work with form.”

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It is his couture-esque MO that has impressed folks like Lagerfeld. The Chanel creative director told Women’s Wear Daily after Tait was announced the winner: “He’s an artist in a way. He sketches very well and, as you know, I like sketches.” Style.com’s associate news editor Katharine K. Zarrella wrote: “For one, he’s old school, whether it comes to technical skills (he’s involved in the creation of each garment he produces), delivering his collections on time, or even sketching… In short, Tait is talented, creatively stable, and his abilities extend far beyond those of any other 26-year-old fashion star.”
Still, you sense there is a part of him that makes him feel like an outsider in the London fashion scene, even though he holds the honour of being the youngest person to ever complete the MA course at Central Saint Martins (in 2010). There, he was under the tutelage of legendary fashion doyenne, the late Louise Wilson.

Born in Montreal, fashion never crossed his mind until he had to choose a course after high school. “I’ve never felt like I am part of this fashion circle,” he admits. “The way that I function as a designer stems from the fact I started quite late in fashion. I entered this business on a whim. I mean, I knew that I was particular about how I want to see things or dress myself. Wanting to dress women was more about the disappointment with how people presented themselves.”

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He shrugs at the thought of how some quarters might label his aesthetic as intellectual. “Some people feel that there’s a reason behind everything. Like there’s a reason things are done in a certain colour. I don’t necessarily see myself as a concept designer; I see myself more as an emotional designer. There’s no scientific calculation or specific concept in what I do. There are things done every season that are fun. Like the light-up earrings I made with LED lights. People immediately ask what the concept is or what’s the idea behind them. I’m like, ‘Nothing. It’s just because they look cool – they light up!’”

Which brings us to the point about why there seems to be a shift to more colour in his work this season. The bright colour-blocking and the movement of colour pleats are an upbeat departure from his usual style. “Colour was something I was very cautious about and didn’t have a huge relationship with at the start. Now, it’s contagious. Every season it grows and becomes a focus. I guess I was tired and liked the danger of trying something different; you don’t want to do something slick and simple all the time.”

His aesthetic may vary each season, but one thing that remains constant is his obsession with construction. It is his benchmark for each collection, he adds. “Certain codes of the house remain season after season, such as the finishing. I don’t like the feel of seams, and this requires the hem, lining and garment (to be) manipulated, so there is no lump and no break in the fabric. Everything feels endless,” he says. Working with small factories in London for all his collections ensures that he keeps an eye on quality too.

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Tait’s win is more than just a validation of his work as a good designer. It is also, perhaps, an endorsement of a bankable designer by a luxury giant, whose growing legion of creative directors includes some of the freshest talent in the industry: J.W. Anderson at Loewe; and Carol Lim and Humberto Leon at Kenzo. Delphine Arnault, the brains behind the award and daughter of LVMH boss Bernard Arnault, says: “There was a lot of debate but, in the end, we thought Thomas could make creative use of the year-long business coaching we are giving with this prize, and he’s at a stage where 300,000 euros can make a very big difference.”

“Hopefully, I’ll be able to make products that are slightly more accessible to people. Given the amount of work I put in and how much I love what I do, I find it quite a shame that I only really sell to about 10 stores worldwide. I feel like there are people who should be wearing and enjoying the pieces that I make, and I’m not reaching out to them enough. So, the priority is that this is invested in the business for the sake of getting the clothes out there (for people) to enjoy.”  That’s a total win-win.

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This feature first appeared in the September 2014 issue of Female magazine