Dream of A Stranger
Story: Ashlynne Sage
Model: Lexie Henry-Allen
A dream can be described as “a cherished aspiration, ambition or ideal” according to The Oxford Dictionary. Alexandra Henry-Allen, who goes by Lexie, is an aspiring fashion designer at Stephens College. She knew from a young age that she wanted to “work in the fashion industry and have a private jet [so she] could fly to Paris whenever [she] wanted.” Lexie has many aspirations for her near future as she prepares to graduate college this coming year with a BFA in Fashion Design and Product Development.
Lexie’s “perfect future” would include a custom white dream home, becoming a mother, and running her very own bridal fashion house like the Baroness in Cruella. She has always liked bridal and has planned her own wedding many times, but she did not know until last year that she wanted to pursue the bridal industry. She “100% fell in love and was completely determined to work in bridal” during her final project for her advanced fashion drawing class. Stephens College has really helped Lexie hone in on her strengths and find herself in the fashion world. The college has given her life-changing skills and opportunities that she will forever be grateful for. The fashion department’s professors have also made a huge impact on her life at Stephens. Lexie said, “one of my favorite things about Stephens College is the faculty-student relationship.” She feels comfortable talking to her professors about anything. She loves how caring and resourceful the professors are in guiding her, and other future designers, through the college career. Although she knew she wanted to be a fashion designer before college, Stephens has really helped Lexie find herself as a designer.
I met Lexie through the fashion department at Stephens. She has picked me to model in her junior collection this year. I interviewed Lexie pretty early on in this process, not knowing much about her. I am currently a freshman apparel studies major at Stephens. I chose not to pursue the fashion design major, but I have many of the same aspirations as Lexie; I found this quite surprising considering before this, we had never met. I have planned my dream wedding multiple times, and I have always loved very detailed, luxurious gowns. I have dreamed of becoming a very involved CEO in my future fashion company, and recently, I have thought about going into custom, made-to-order gowns and dresses including bridal. I was talking to my older sister who even told me I was designing her wedding dress. This was so exciting to hear because I never considered bridal as a full-time career. Talking to my sister and meeting Lexie has helped me stay open-minded to more options in the fashion industry. Lexie is truly someone I can look up to as an aspiring designer myself.
Stephens College is one of many colleges that give students the opportunity to meet people with similar dreams. While trying out for the Stephens College modeling group, Lexie was one of the people teaching us how to walk in one of the side rooms before our tryouts. Other than this short interaction, I never knew who she was until she reached out for me to be one of her models. Through the process of fittings, and now this interview, I am finding out how similar we are. In the world we live in today, everyone around us seems like a stranger. We look around and see the obvious differences and similarities, but it’s not too often that we actually get to know the people around us deeper than just their appearances. Everyone has a dream they hope to achieve someday. Without having conversations, we will never know what those dreams are. Dreams are a beautiful way to bond with the people around us and make connections we have never thought of making.
