Ashton Hall, his students, Emanuel Clark, aka ‘God’s Jeweler,’ and an extraordinary collection of collaborators gave Little Rock something bigger than a fashion show this past weekend. They gave the city a message.

Autism has style in Little Rock, Arkansas, America!

On September 26, 2026, Little Rock’s prestigiousChenal Country Club became a runway of fashion, philanthropy, inclusion, and love as internationally recognized fashion designer, entrepreneur, author, and fragrance creator Ashton Hall, CEO and founder of theAshton Hall Collection, presented “The Anatomy of Love.”

The official Little Rock event listing described the afternoon as an immersive fashion experience featuring a runway presentation and elegant dining while benefiting the Autism Spectrum Disorder Foundation (ASDF).

But those of us in the room experienced something deeper. The Anatomy of Love was not simply something you watched. It was something you felt.

Fashion With a Heartbeat of Love is the theme!

The title was intentional because love has an anatomy. There is romantic love (Eros). Family love (Storge). Friendship love (Philia). Community love (Xenia). Creative love. And there is selfless love (Agape) that asks what we can do for someone else.

That spectrum of love became an appropriate metaphor for an afternoon supporting people across the autism spectrum. ASDF’s stated mission includes providing information, education, and financial assistance to children with autism, their families, and the organizations that serve them.

That made this runway matter.
The models did not merely display clothing. Through multiple runway presentations, Hall’s garments became characters in a larger story about identity, emotion, friendship, and human connection. And stitched throughout it all was inclusion.

The Bible reminds us in 1 Corinthians 16:14, “Let all your things be done with charity.”

And 1 Peter 4:8 reminds us, “Charity shall cover the multitude of sins.” Fashion can cover the body. Love must cover humanity.

Little Rock Is Becoming a Fashion Hub

For an unforgettable afternoon, Little Rock did not have to imitate New York, Paris, Milan, or Los Angeles. Little Rock simply had to be Little Rock. Hall’s career helps explain why that distinction matters. Blume & Hall Fashion Academy describes him as a designer, author, and philanthropist with more than four decades in fashion, whose work has appeared on runways in New York and Paris. His expanding creative enterprise now encompasses couture, education, fragrance, and his memoir, Unstitched.

TheAshton Hall Collection now reaches beyond garments. Hall offers AH Eau De Parfum, which his company describes as a fragrance built around refinement, sandalwood, and amber, along with footwear such as The Sloane leather slingback heel.

That is what makes Hall’s presence in Arkansas significant. He is not merely bringing fashion shows to Little Rock. He is helping build a fashion ecosystem.

At the Blume & Hall Fashion Academy, 319 President Clinton Avenue, students can study pattern drafting, draping, garment construction, fashion-show preparation, portfolio development, and professional practices. During The Anatomy of Love, Hall acknowledged students and the next generation of designers. That moment mattered. Young people should not have to imagine what a professional runway looks like from hundreds of miles away.

They should be able to see it here. They should be able to touch the fabric, watch the models, study the production, meet the designer, and understand that a creative career can begin in Arkansas. A Room That Looked Like Community. The audience was multigenerational and multicultural—a mixture of medical professionals, educators, business leaders, students, dignitaries, entrepreneurs, and fashion enthusiasts.

Among the attendees was Dr. Chris Jones, the 2026 Democratic nominee for Arkansas’s 2nd Congressional District. Former Urban League of Arkansas president and businessman Scott Hamilton was also present.

My wife, Monica Davis, and I attended during our 15th wedding anniversary weekend. We came to support the event and found ourselves witnessing something that aligned beautifully with an anniversary: an afternoon dissecting what love actually means.

Pamela Smith, the longtime Arkansas journalist who now serves as Communications Director for the Little Rock School District, helped guide the experience. Dametrice FranSha Anderson with the Arkansas State Independent Living Council—Ar. SILC was also in attendance. The first family of Arkansas journalism, Renarda and Helaine Palmer Williams, attended in style and were not on duty!

Doctors Ron and Christy King brought another dimension to the evening by discussing autism, adults on the spectrum, and scholarship opportunities. The message was unmistakable: people deserve to be seen. Inclusion cannot merely be a fashionable word. It must have a seat at the table—and sometimes a place on the runway.

Jazz, Beauty, and an Immersive Experience

Pattern Blu supplied timeless live jazz, giving the production a soundtrack rather than mere background music. The Paul Mitchell School contributed to the beauty experience. Hair, makeup, styling, lighting, staging, models, music, cocktails, dining, media, auction activity, and storytelling converged.

This was precisely what Hall intended. Not clothing in isolation. An experience.

Guests also encountered Hall’s fragrance line and other specialty items. This area was anchored by author and poet Erica James, CEO of Hearts of Poetry. This element of the Ashton Hall Collection echoed retail therapy, while giveaways and moments of audience interaction broke down the invisible wall between designer and spectator.

One moment could be elegant. Another emotional. Another educational. Another celebratory. That is the anatomy of love: different organs performing different functions but contributing to one living body.

The Runway After the Runway

Hall has been building this model deliberately. His 2025 East Meets West presentation also took place at Chenal Country Club, combining fashion with philanthropy.

Now The Anatomy of Love advances the idea further.

Perhaps the most important measurement of this show will not be how many people applauded, how beautiful the garments were, or how elegantly the models walked. It will be what happens after the runway. Who learned more about autism? Who donated? Who felt included? Which student decided to become a designer? Which family discovered another resource? Which young person finally saw someone who looked like them occupying a creative space they once thought existed only in New York or Paris?

Those are questions fashion cannot answer with fabric alone.

But fashion can start the conversation. On September 26, Ashton Hall reminded Little Rock that a runway can carry far more than clothes. It can carry dignity. It can carry diversity. It can carry autism awareness. It can carry hope. And when fashion is stitched together with purpose, community, and compassion, perhaps we finally understand the real anatomy of love. Because the most important thing Ashton Hall sent down the runway Saturday wasn’t simply fashion. It was humanity.

Visit or contact Ashton Hall at the Ashton Hall’s Collection ‘Main Stitch Alterations’ at 319 President Clinton Avenue, Suite 201, Little Rock, Arkansas 72201. Phone: 501.663.3242 [email protected], website: www.ashtonhallcollection.net

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Edmond W. Davis is one of America’s top social historians, media strategists, and professors. Davis is the founder of the National HBCU Black Wall Street Career Fest. A native of Philadelphia, PA, he, his wife, Monica, and his son, Kalon, currently live in the Little Rock area. Davis is committed to cultural empowerment and educational equity. through storytelling and civic engagement. In 2026, Davis was a grand marshal at the 38th Annual African American History Month Celebration Parade, the largest in the U.S. during Black History Month. His life is told in the 2023 ‘Short Documentary of the Year’ at the Black Excellence Awards, titled ‘FROM GRIND TO GROWTH: The Edmond W. Davis Story. Davis was also the courthouse jailroom deputy on the NBC TV miniseries Bluff City Law. As a journalist, Davis’ work can be read on three continents (North America, Africa & Europe).