You heard it here first. From transformative dressing to taking cues from the catwalk, Stylist’s fashion director, Lucy Reber, gives her thoughts on why Tu is having a moment
Lucy Reber, Fashion Director
The arrival of summer always makes me assess my style. The ritualistic putting away of coats and unearthing favourite summer pieces is the ideal time to think about spaces that need filling in my wardrobe. Often, what I need is something bold to make my whole look feel more of the moment, while the shift into sunshine makes me reach for pieces that invite adventure. Somehow it makes sense to be more statement when dressing for sun.
Fashion shows are a huge inspiration when curating looks for the new season. Trends are forged on catwalks, and we all want to capture that luxe feeling. However, as amazing as a flowing chiffon dress from a high-end brand is, the £2,000-plus price tag is unrealistic for the majority of us. With the cost-of-living crisis, we’re all feeling the pinch, but does that mean we should be forgoing joy and self-expression until things get brighter? Certainly not.
Perhaps, instead, we must readjust the way we’re shopping and lose the emphasis on the cost or provenance of a garment when judging how special it is. Surely (and I come across this time and time again when styling shoots) the value of something should be placed on the way it makes us feel, rather than the label it carries.
Luckily for us in the UK, we have a plethora of amazing accessible brands – and recently, it’s Tu that’s been brought to my attention. A very chic friend of mine who works in fashion swears by Tu vest tops, asserting that they’re the best shape around, while many compliments I’ve bestowed on friends’ vibrant dresses over the last few months have elicited the same response – “It’s from Tu”. There seems to be a real IYKYK feeling about the brand right now and once I’d noticed it, I seemed to see Tu everywhere. I’m already a huge devotee of Tu’s kids’ offerings; a soft pink, ruffle-collared cardigan I bought for my daughter as a baby was washed and worn on repeat and has now been handed down to her baby cousins. But as the dreamy Stylist x Tu fashion shoot over the following pages demonstrates, the brand is about so much more than just basics and babies. These key Tu pieces can elevate your everyday, bringing a new dimension to your wardrobe, and all without the added pressure of a hefty price tag.
I recently spent an exploratory afternoon at Tu headquarters looking at their a/w
