Almost 60: Ann Taylor Launches Spring 2014

“I hate the word ‘basics,’” says Ann Taylor’s creative director Lisa Axelson at the brand’s perky spring 2014 presentation in New York last Thursday. “ ‘Basics’ is commodity, ‘basics’ is unemotional. Nobody needs basics. In today’s world, you gotta drive with emotion.”

Axelson has a point: Ann Taylor turns 60 this season, a banner year that affects any woman in both good ways and bad. But instead of celebrating the past, Axelson is using the milestone birthday to look ahead.

“Now is the time for us to put a stake in the ground and declare our forward thinking modern path,” she says. “We wanted a fashion twist without it being too trendy. Something that feels fashionable shouldn’t try too hard.”

Indeed, the clothes surrounding us were a smart balance of utilitarian work staples and just plain covetable stuff: Think drapey pleated skirts and tweedy textured stripes mixed together with playful polka dots, or beading jazzing up crisp shirting. For Axelson, these aren’t just elements of a modern woman’s wardrobe—they’re meant to be fun.

“We all work way too hard, we have tough days,” Axelson says. “It’s not easy being a modern working woman. [That’s why] clothes should be transformative and playful.”Another excuse to shop? We'll take it.