Fashion - Bachelor
Unlawfully Wedded is Samuel Alexandr Murray’s graduate collection debut, reimagining the traditions of bridalwear through queer history and contemporary design. Exploring ritual, transparency, and transformation, the collection unravels ideals of marriage to reveal tenderness, defiance, and the liberating act of self-expression.
Unlawfully Wedded began with the material: a collection of dead-stock fabrics gifted from a former bridal designer. These remnants became the starting point for an exploration I had long imagined — creating a bridal collection that questions the very traditions it draws from.
As a queer man, I have never fully identified with the institution of marriage. It has often felt confined and outdated, shaped by convention and exclusion. Yet I have always been a romantic. I love the intimacy of weddings, the beauty of ritual, and the emotion that surrounds them. This tension between admiration and resistance became the heart of the project.
Unlawfully Wedded reimagines classic bridal silhouettes through queer history and contemporary design. Using inherited bridal materials, I sought to transform them — fraying, slashing, and reconstructing fabrics to physically unravel the ideals of marriage. Transparency, raw edges, and layered appliqué became expressions of vulnerability, truth, and transformation.
Queer symbolism runs quietly throughout the collection, inspired by the writings of Oscar Wilde and Sappho, and the work of artists such as Georgia O’Keeffe. Florals play a central role — a traditional element in bridalwear reinterpreted through queer coding. Violets and calla lilies reference the language of queer women and sexuality, while the pansy, once used as a slur toward queer men, is reclaimed here as a symbol of pride and tenderness. Subtle historical references, such as lingerie and the hanky code, gesture toward openness and desire within the framework of ritual and romance.
I have always been drawn to tailoring and precise construction, but this collection challenged those disciplines. Structured garments meet raw, expressive surfaces through felting, slicing, and twisted fabric — techniques not often seen in bridal wear. Each piece balances refinement with rebellion, delicacy with defiance.
Ultimately, Unlawfully Wedded is a reflection on love and its evolving forms. It asks how we might reimagine commitment, intimacy, and ritual beyond inherited ideals. Through this collection, I hope to reveal beauty in transformation, where love, like design itself, becomes an act of renewal.
“To love oneself is the beginning of a lifelong romance.”
Oscar Wilde
Model: Emma Simons
Model: Bethany Stewart
Samuel Alexandr Murray is a creative whose chosen discipline of fashion serves as a tool for storytelling and self-expression. Their work investigates ideas of identity, tradition, and transformation through thoughtful design and refined construction.