Tanya Taylor’s first gig as a moderator was a big one — former President Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton Wednesday night at Canada’s Bell Center.
With only four days’ notice, and a pre-fall collection due the day of the event, the New York-based, Canadian-born designer ricocheted around to tie everything up. While Michelle Obama is greeting sellout coliseum crowds for her “Becoming” book tour, the Clintons faced a 3,000-person crowd in Montreal, one stop in their 13-city speaking tour.
Taylor’s prep work was tough, partly since she couldn’t find any video footage of the Clintons in an onstage chat. The Toronto-bred designer went to school in Montreal and she traveled with President Clinton on a nine-day trip to Kenya and Tanzania in 2015 and got to the know the family. (Taylor reportedly went as a Clinton Foundation partner.)
The designer said she is friendly with Chelsea Clinton and sees the former first couple from time to time. “Honestly, I was shocked to be asked and so grateful. I had never moderated anything in my life so it was really terrifying. I had four days to prepare and Wednesday morning the pre-fall collection was due. We finished, did our style-outs and
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