fire dress
Penelope Wilson
Penelope Wilson
August 4, 2020 ·  4 min read

Artist Starts a Colorful Wedding Dress Business After Her “Fire” Wedding Dress Goes Viral

Art is all about self- discovery and the way it’s expressed is strictly up to the individual. Every artist has a unique story to tell, and what’s better than one inspired by love?

Taylor Ann Linko had been working hard at her big break for many years. Ever since she was a little kid in elementary school, all she wanted was to be a famous artist recognized for awesome creations. Her art revolves around colorful paintings, and she spent a lot of time as a kid decorating fruit baskets and selling them to her mom’s friends. She later went on to face painting and other artistic interests, most of which were stepping stones her true dream [1].

The wedding that changed her life

Taylor had always been a color freak, a lover of paint and decoration, not surprisingly white-colored items weren’t common in her closet. Here desire to pain white surfaces is strong, and clothes weren’t excluded. One week to her wedding, she was banned from touching any paint to avoid getting it on her skin. 

“When I said I was going to paint my wedding dress, I was surprised no one tried to steal all my paint and hide it until after the big day. Trust me there were some really concerned people! But white is not allowed in my closet………so I had to ;),” she wrote on her website.

Taylor writes that although she’s a shy person, art is her way of expressing herself without restrictions. 

“Just so happens, my heart is filled with Art. Painting, Sculpting, Sewing, Drawing, Makeup….& that tends to show though, from doodles on my arm to paint on my wedding dress,” she wrote.

For her wedding dress, she took a while shopping for the perfect one until she found a lovely “Savoy’s Bellezza”. However, it was too… white. Just all white. No color, no flair, and no artsy feels. Just a plain white dress that didn’t put any sparks in her heart.

Of course, she decided to color it.

When anyone heard what I was doing to my dress this expression just stuck to their face of worry and shock without a single word to say in reply. My poor Mom, she bought me the dress and was helping me cut out the colorful lace appliques she thought were going on the dress when I had a risky change of plans,” she wrote.

Read: Startup Re-Engineers Spoiled Milk Into Biodegradable Clothing

Lighting up the love…

Taylor wanted a dress that would showcase her artsy, colorful, and yet reserved personality. She’d spent her entire life adding color to whatever she touched, and her wedding wasn’t going to be excluded.

She chose colors that meant something to her heart.

“Purple is my all-time favorite so that was a must. Blue is Chris’s favorite color. (Husband). Yellow was my Grandfathers favorite color, I wanted to include it to remember him and honor him at the wedding, he was like a Dad to me.  I worked as a face painter then and had this wonderful color combo I used for sunsets, starting with yellow and then orange, red, maroon, purple, blue it was perfect combo. All the colors I wanted in a harmonious way that reflected a sunset,” Taylor wrote.

After trying several techniques, she decided to paint her dress with an airbrush. It was a lot of work, and she even got dip-dye all over herself at some point, but she completed it one week out from the wedding. It was a stunning masterpiece that appeared as though she had set colorful fire to the bottom. Perfection.

Taylor went on to color her hair in the same tones as the dress and appeared at her wedding, at the Pine Rose Cabins in California, looking like a stunning goddess!

Read: Sashiko stitching: An Ancient Japanese Sewing Art that Allows You to Visibly Mend Your Clothes and Turn Them into Style

A dream was born

Taylor’s wedding had been covered by photographer James Tang who did an amazing job with the pictures. Months after she tied the knot, Taylor’s photos suddenly went viral and she began receiving belated congratulations and dress inquiries from all over the world.

Photos of her wedding dress had been featured on a UK blog and they went viral afterward. Although she wasn’t credited, people sought her out and got in touch across all platforms. Her dress was a beauty to behold and thousands of women wanted their wedding dresses colored as well.

Taylor was finally presented with a business idea that has been a success ever since!

The art of painting wedding dresses started when my dress went viral. I’ve always been a very colorful artist. So I got to experimenting and brainstorming how to incorporate my passion for art and color into my wedding,” she told Bored Panda.

She rented a small studio and started her business painting wedding dresses. Finally, she was living her dream. 

Photo Credits: Taylorannart, Jamesphotography

Other dresses by Taylor: 

  1. Hidreley. Artist Starts A Colorful Wedding Dress Business After Her “Fire” Wedding Dress Goes Viral. Bored Panda. https://www.boredpanda.com/fire-wedding-dress-taylor-ann-linko/ Retrieved 30-07-2020