Photograph courtesy of Abbey Glass
After a tumultuous year, fashion is ready for its comeback. This week, local womenswear designer Abbey Glass releases her latest launch, a bright and optimistic collaboration with Southern artist collective Well + Wonder that amounts to three collections in one. With each, Glass collaborated with an artist member of the collective Well + Wonder, which curates an online collection of works by Southern artists.
The three limited-edition collections were created using the digital files of the works of three Well + Wonder artists, then adapted and reconfigured for fashion by adjusting scale and pattern repeat, as well as inspiring the colors for solid pieces. One of the mini collections features abstract animal prints on heavier linens for the transition from spring to summer, based on the colorful artwork of painter and collage artist Maria Driscoll. The second offers satiny tops and dresses featuring the “Blossoms and Branches” painting by Millie Sims, and the third is a tropical-inspired set for summer using the deconstructed floral paintings of Atlanta-based Annie King. The feminine tops and flowy dresses ($175–$295) add up to a 30-piece launch.
Photograph courtesy of Abbey Glass
Photograph courtesy of Abbey Glass
Glass and the Louisville-based founder of Well + Wonder, Mollie Creason, met virtually during the pandemic after both were selected as Tory Burch fellows (a year-long program by the designer that includes grants, workshops, and other support for female entrepreneurs). Glass, a fine artist herself, has collaborated with artists in the past, including Atlanta-based abstract painter Britt Bass, and she says this year has her turning back to her roots. “It’s a time when everyone seems to really just want to enjoy every minute of work,” Glass says of the timing. “I wanted something exciting to focus on.”
“A collaboration with Abbey was the perfect fit,” says Creason, who launched Well + Wonder five years ago as an approachable way for new art lovers to start their own collection. She now represents about 40 artists, all women based in the South, many in Georgia. “We share a lot of the same customer base.”
Photograph courtesy of Abbey Glass
The garments can be found in store at Abbey Glass in Buckhead Village at and abbey-glass.com. As for the original works of art that spurred the designs—they’ve all been sold, but other pieces by the artists are available at wellandwondercollective.com.
