Something old, something new: Reflecting on the past to inspire the future
As a young girl, Anne Barge Clegg (BSED ’69) always had a sketchbook in hand. Surrounded by a family of artists, Anne was exposed to music and art from a very early age. Her mother would bring her along with her to perform at weddings — Anne’s mother was a talented organist and UGA alum — and all the while, Anne would design wedding gowns in her mind to eventually transfer them to her trusty sketchbook.
Years later, she would reflect on these experiences as the moment she knew that one day she would be the one to design gowns that would serve as the centerpiece on a very special day in brides’ lives everywhere.
“My goal has always been to make sure that people feel their most beautiful, even when they cannot imagine it,” Anne says.
From those sketches on notebook paper during grammar school to the runways of New York and Europe and eventually to brides on their wedding days, Anne’s designs are part of a legacy and brand that has lasted well over 50 years.
Anne’s mother, Ada Williams Barge (AB ’38), had an immeasurable impact on that legacy beyond taking her to the weddings that would eventually influence her first designs.
“My mother was a UGA alum and a student of Hugh Hodgson’s,” Anne remembers. “She took me to see him, the head of the music department at the time, so that I could play the piano for him.”
Anne was 4 years old and could play music by ear since the age of 2. So, on that memorable afternoon, Anne played whatever Hodgson wanted to hear as long as sheet music was there. Though she couldn’t read music, she wouldn’t play unless there was sheet music on the piano. That experience left a lasting impression.
Built from the ground up
In fact, it was her time at UGA that inadvertently led her to where she is now. While attending the university in pursuit of an education degree, Anne was student-teaching and living with her Aunt Jean in Atlanta. She saw an ad in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that Priscilla of Boston would be in Atlanta for a trunk show.
“I thought to myself, ‘this is the opportunity to make my dream come true,’” she says.
Anne gathered her sketchbooks and marched down to the trunk show with a determination that only comes from someone who truly believes in their own capabilities to achieve greatness. Those hopes, however, were seemingly dashed once the sales staff realized that she was not a young bride looking for her very own dress, but instead, a young woman looking to make her own mark on the industry.
As the sales staff began to usher Anne out the door, none other than Priscilla Kidder herself emerged from the back of the dressing room.
“She said, ‘I’m Priscilla, did you want to meet me?’ And I thought I was going to pass out,” Anne recalls. “She took me into a fitting room with Jim Helm, her head designer. They looked at my sketches and really liked them… she said they were very different.”
Then Anne heard perhaps the last thing that she had expected would come out of Priscilla’s mouth: “How fast can you pack your bags and move to Boston?”
Anne’s graduation from the University of Georgia was a mere two weeks away, and it was extremely important to her parents that she earn her degree before embarking on this adventure. So, a few weeks later, diploma in hand, Anne met Priscilla at the airport and never looked back.
“My whole life changed at that moment and I knew the future was now. I also knew I was not destined to teach art,” she said.
An impact felt decades later
Before creating her own line of Anne Barge gowns, Anne worked in the bridal industry as a retailer. She would eventually sell to Kleinfeld (of “Say Yes to the Dress” fame) and consult for Richard Branson’s Virgin Bride shop in London. There, she consulted for a year before becoming the full-time managing director of Virgin Bride.
After she came back to the states, she decided she needed to carve a new niche for herself in a rapidly growing industry. Her years in the bridal industry up to this point had been selling others’ wedding dresses — but now, Anne would finally design her very own line. In March 1999, after years in the bridal business, Anne showed her very first line of dresses in New York. Since then, her name has become a staple in any bride’s search for the perfect wedding dress.
Anne has always used classic silhouettes and elements to create gowns that evoke a sense of longevity and elegance in each of her designs. In fact, this fascination with creating timeless pieces has led Anne to donate materials from her fashion journey to UGA Libraries. From sketchbooks from her early days of dreaming up different gowns after attending weddings with her mother, to scrapbooks full of inspiration and photos, videos and various materials for her bridal line, Anne has given a piece of her legacy to the university.
In addition to those materials, dozens of Anne Barge Bridal gowns will become a part of the College of Family and Consumer Sciences Historic Clothing and Textile Collection to be cared for and used as educational materials for future generations of Bulldog students. The gowns and additional materials will be exhibited to the public in fall 2026 by UGA Libraries.
Anne’s connection to UGA isn’t limited to her time as a student or her current involvement with the collection, however. In 2007, the Today Show in New York aired a special titled “Today Show Throws a Wedding,” wherein viewers were able to vote on different aspects of the televised wedding, including the theme, colors, location and, of course, the dress.
In true Bulldog fashion, fellow alumni around the world voted for Anne’s dress to be selected, and later Anne was told — by Katie Couric, no less — that her dress had received the most votes in the history of any NBC show.
The UGA community has been part of integral moments throughout Anne’s life and career: her childhood memories with her mother, her leap of faith as a young professional, and finally, her commitment to preserving and promoting timeless pieces for future students and burgeoning designers.
This story was written by Rachael Andrews with UGA Development and Alumni Relations.
