With Love – Darling

My work follows a project I started last year where I found a love for upcycling. I enjoyed the problem-solving aspect and the nature to explore innovative ways of reusing pre-loved items. Since I was younger, I have worked in the bridal industry and I quickly discovered a love for the industry. I had often considered the design side of the industry, and this is where the idea for upcycled bridal attire formed. I wanted a more youthful, exciting, conceptual take on typical bridal attire and to explore the societal norms of gender within bridal and embrace the LGBTQ+ community. The concept for the collection stemmed from ‘the runaway bride’ aesthetic and elopement weddings, however, this later developed into taking inspirations from Las Vegas and western features with a running theme of “What would Dolly do?”. I wanted to keep some typical bridal features such as lace, frills, embellishments, but combine multiple textures and slight pops of pink to create a youthful spirit.