Designer Talia Byre On Nostalgia, Getting Stuck In & What Inspired Her AW25 Collection 

This morning, womenswear designer Talia Lipkin-Connor – the woman behind the brand Talia Byre – unveiled her AW25 collection at the Incubator Art Gallery on Chiltern Street in London’s Marylebone. Known for her deeply personal approach to design, Talia’s work is rooted in family history and a strong sense of community – values shaped by her great uncle’s iconic Liverpool boutique, Lucinda Byre, which operated between 1964 and 1982. With every collection, she weaves in fragments of memory, archival references, and broader cultural influences, creating pieces that feel equally nostalgic and entirely modern. 

This season is no exception. Drawing inspiration from Hollywood – including a nod to a De Niro classic – the collection channels the energy of these cinematic muses through prints and fabrics, all reimagined through Talia’s distinctive lens.

Service95 caught up with the designer days before her show to unravel her creative process, the in-depth research that shapes each collection, and how storytelling continues to be the driving force behind everything she creates. Plus, discover the full video interview below...

NO TWO DAYS ARE THE SAME. It really depends on what part of the season we’re in. For instance, on Saturday we were sewing all day. We tag-team – I’ll cut, and Ellie [my assistant] will sew, or sometimes I’ll be doing more brand planning or research boards. It changes more by the week rather than day-to-day. We’re a tiny team, so there’s just never enough time in the day.

MY STUDIO IS TINY. It has a great light, which is so important, and the walls are covered with my reference pictures. Our press packages, which we send out for things like editorial shoots, always stack up in the corner, which causes me to have multiple meltdowns before I stop and reorganise everything. We just have so much stuff. The research side is still really important to us, so we end up with loads of boards but that’s how I was trained – it’s a bit old-school, but it works for us. Plus, I keep everything and looking through my old research boxes each season is an important part of the process. Luckily, we’re moving soon to a bigger space, where we’ll have the studio in the back and a showroom at the front, which will work well for our appointments when people come totry things on.

THE INSPIRATION BEHIND THIS COLLECTION started with film references. We don’t really do, like, “Oh, this season is about ‘this’ woman.” It’s usually a mash-up of lots of things, and the season is such a long period of time – I’m working on it for six months before, so a lot can happen in-between that might inspire me. The first film was Variety (1983) – all the knit colours are referenced from that, as well as the jumpers. Then we looked at Casino with Robert De Niro, especially his matching shirts and ties, which we interpreted in our own way. We also really wanted to push a very British feeling. This season feels nostalgic – I hate the word, but it’s true. We kept saying it’s inspired by our teenage selves. Certain fabrications, for example, like a beautiful wool we’ve used, really remind me of being a teenager. Then all the check patterns have a school-uniform feel.

We like to be tongue-in-cheek. Strong characters in films particularly inspire us. A lot of our AW23 collections were inspired by Funny Girl, and we called it Sadie, Sadie [in reference to one of the musical’s songs]. We had a full leopard-print knit look, which was really important. That was actually a reference to an old Lucinda Byers cardigan that we recreated. So there are always different elements coming together. But with films, I think it’s more about the emotions of the characters and how they make you feel that we try to encapsulate.

IDEAS START WHILE WE’RE STILL WORKING ON THE PREVIOUS COLLECTION. Even now, we’re already thinking, “Okay, we’ve been working on this for months – what’s next season?” Usually, it ends up being quite different, although there’s always some kind of continuation. We often go back to the Central Saint Martins library – I teach at the London College of Fashion, so we still have access cards to get in and do library days – and spend hours looking through their catalogue. Or sometimes, there’s just a mood in the studio; a certain feeling, or something that’s happened.

A LOT OF WHAT I’VE LEARNED CAME FROM MY TIME AT CENTRAL SAINT MARTINS. You’re always trying to create work that feels authentic to you at CSM. That’s what we used to get shouted at in the studio during my time there – you can always tell when something isn’t authentic. Now, as a teacher, I can tell too. That was on my mind when I started the brand in 2020, because when it feels authentic, people connect with it. It’s something I always say to my students now. We use the word ‘real’ a lot – it has to feel like something we would genuinely want or aspire to wear. The clothes are often things you’d wear every day, not just pieces for one occasion.