T21- A Guide to T21 & Fashion

T21 is the fashion brainchild of designer Elie Tahari and his wife Rory.  T21 represents Rory Tahari's entry into the realm of casual wear.  Sporty, fun, and flirty are adjectives that come to mind when describing T21 designs.  Rory stated that one of her goals was to create clothes she wanted to wear but had a hard time finding--like fashionable women's shorts.

Rory's husband Elie was already an extremely successful fashion magnate when she married him.  Tahari himself claims that his fashion empire has become even more successful since Rory entered his life. 

Elie Tahari grew up in Israel in an orphanage and came to New York City in the wild and woolly 70s. He cut his teeth in New York's retail world and drew inspiration from the outrageously energetic club scene that thrived in the city during that era.  For someone with something of a rough and tumble background, Tahari's fashion philosophy is surprisingly understated. 

He calls himself an architect of fashion, by which he means that his clothes aim to create enough space for a woman's own natural beauty to shine through.  He calls it creating silence through design. His designs have consistently appealed to sexy, sophisticated women, and they have often been carried at upscale retailers like Nordstrom's.