Chapter 1: OBSESSED WITH LOVE!
Photo by Rachel Artime in The Collection Inc., Parlour
The Collection Inc. is my personal exploration of love in the past present and future. It’s my continuous questioning of what love means, what it looks like and what it feels like. And always questioning where I fit in the equation.
Love, in its essence, radiates off of us when we are locked in with our purpose, passion, and faith. It’s a tangible energy. I’ve found that exploring these three heavy hitters of adulthood takes a lot of questioning, bravery, reflection, and continuous discomfort. The messy, chaotic, inner madness of it all is where we find which seeds of passion to water. Constant exploration, failing, and reinventing is where I’ve found the most love for myself and those around me.
I’ve been curious about love and its motivations since I first watched The Notebook in 8th grade, (I mean Ryan Gosling IS compelling). I said I would never design wedding dresses because they were all.the.same. And, I was always outraged that the tradition was speaking louder than the love itself. I hated that the culture around weddings was driven by "shoulds". You should invite your great Aunt who you haven’t talked to since you were 10 years old. You should ask your best friends to dress up in identical dresses that rob them of their taste and style. You should read your vows in front of everyone even if you’re having a panic attack about public speaking an hour before your ceremony. You should invite all of your parents friends. You should should should!!
When I started designing Julia’s wedding dress in 2020 while still working in the fashion industry, I realized that so many brides had something specific to say, and something specific to explore in this process. What did love mean to them? What does marriage truly mean to a modern couple? And why on earth was nobody asking these questions already?
Then I was hooked, I was curious, and I wanted to answer my questions. I wanted to understand the historic tradition of a wedding from various perspectives. And I wanted to understand how the essence of love played a part in the tradition. After Julia, I started guiding brides through a design process that allowed them to dig deeper. Question the why, question the what, and challenge their creativity (and mine) in safe company. Over the past two years I’ve gotten to work with deeply creative men and women who are truly on a never ending journey of self discovery- even the ones that came in thinking they’re not creative.
The process I’ve designed for my clients simulates the process of a practicing artist: Research & Design, Development, and Finalization. We put them in the driver seat and guide them through the course. The clients move through each part of the design process and feel each part of it. The vulnerability that comes with having an opinion, the moments of panic when you hate it because it’s not finished, the bravery of saying what you want, and the emotion behind seeing your vision become real. They too realize that the process is the solution. You can’t skip the steps, you have to move through it. And the result is a deeper connection within.
We all have questions to ask ourselves. And most of us deeply desire raw, stimulating, love and self assurance. The Blog is where we explore those driving questions and those seeds of passion. Artists and their deeply intimate journeys. Love in its essence. Heartbreak & healing. Marriage. Sex. Abstinence. Tradition and culture. Love in the past, present, and future. Anything to finally answer what love is and why we’re so obsessed with it.
xo Ashley