She had already modelled on Jonathan Anderson’s autumn/winter 2023 catwalk for Loewe, but it wasn’t until the following season that Taylor Russell became a bona fide fashion force – at least in the eyes of one industry titan. In a then-viral clip, the actor can be seen arriving at Loewe’s spring/summer 2024 presentation wearing a pewter sculpture, hammered by French metalsmith Elie Hirsch into a men’s pea coat, and requiring its own handler so Russell could take her seat on the front bench. Vogue’s Anna Wintour turned her head, let out a smile, and perhaps (perhaps) fired off an invite to what would seven months later be Russell’s first Met Gala. “I loved that coat so much,” Russell says. “Because it was made by an artisan, and that’s the brilliance of Jonathan, bringing something from a different world into this one. I wish I owned it for my living room.”
Which feels fitting, given that Russell’s relationship with fashion began at home. Growing up in Deep Cove, North Vancouver, she would start each morning by choosing a plastic bag from a pile beneath the kitchen sink, filling it with her essentials, and carrying it with her through whatever the day had in store. “No one could pry it out of my hands,” she says. “I guess I always had a very specific idea of what I wanted to be dressed in, and my mum just let me be.” Russell didn’t start out rich – much of her childhood wardrobe came from Value Village, the Canadian second-hand chain, and she didn’t buy her first brand-new item until her teens – but she always felt that dressing well was an obligation she owed to herself. “Thrifting gave me room to explore and go through different phases,” she says. “It helped me play, and figure out what felt good – how I wanted to represent myself, what felt true internally and externally. But I’ve always cared. I’ve always felt it was important, even an honour, to care about what you’re wearing.” Even now, in her cosiest moments, she won’t sacrifice aesthetics for comfort. “It’s an old-school thing,” she adds. “Something that exists in me from a different life, maybe.”
And so, once again, Russell found herself seated in the front row of a Jonathan Anderson show – this time his debut haute couture presentation for Dior – in a dress not designed for sitting: a hip-flaring midi in floral-embroidered silk. “I don’t usually wear pieces that are quite so feminine, but this one was just so pretty and delicate,” she says. “Plus, I love a white dress, like, I was gobsmacked by the bridal gown at the finale. I just kept thinking, ‘Who is going to wear that?’, ‘I want to wear that.” For someone who isn’t “super into weddings”, the celebratory atmosphere in the room clearly rubbed off. “The whole thing just felt joyous,” she continues. “I mean, I was sitting with Greta [Lee] and Josh [O’Connor] and just kept being like, ‘Look, that’s John Galliano!’ And you could feel how emotional it was for the people in the atelier making the gowns. Each look was better than the last. You see the dresses, and you’re like, ‘How is this being held up on someone’s body?’ Jonathan defies gravity.” (Spoken, I hasten to add, like someone who was just this week announced as a brand ambassador.)
What, I ask, keeps Russell, who held the same position at Loewe, returning to Anderson’s world? “I mean, it’s not difficult to return to, is it?” she says. “Sitting at a show, thinking, ‘Look at how lovely my life is’. It’s not lost on me how special it is to be in his vision, and to be one of the fixtures within it.” Now responsible for as many as 18 collections a year – spanning Dior, JW Anderson, and Uniqlo – working with these trusted individuals may be one way the most prolific designer in fashion stays grounded. “People are the way to stay sane,” Russell adds. “Like, there was something that needed tailoring at the last minute with the dress, and I screamed when the same person who used to do all my red-carpet dresses at Loewe walked in. That continued loyalty to the people he works with is such a testament to Jonathan’s character.” So, too, is being surrounded by beautiful things. “Even the pipes in his house, the cup you drink tea from, his taste goes beyond fashion. There is a reverence for life in every moment, which is something I feel so strongly in his work, too. I’ve also had some really fun, crazy nights with him, which I won’t talk about.”
Fine. But it does leave you imagining what the rest of fashion week might have in store for Russell – which, as it turns out, is nothing more raucous than tracking down an art shop to buy an organiser for her paintbrushes; revisiting Ogata, the Japanese dining-slash-shopping concept in the Marais; or, if she’s feeling really indulgent, a trip to Moji Farhat vintage in the Opéra neighbourhood. “But I try not to go there,” Russell says. “I always end up spending too much.” It all sounds very tranquil. “It’s funny,” she explains. “I feel like I’ve been hibernating for the past couple of years, so even getting the Eurostar to Paris feels completely different for me, and that makes me enjoy these moments more. I have the space within myself to come into these places and focus on the things that bring happiness. And I’m pretty clear about what’s required of me these days. I’m not plagued by anything. I’m not trying to escape anywhere. I take time when I need to take time. That’s easier said than done, of course, but knowing what you need for balance is probably the best way to navigate a world like this.”