To Be Inspired by a Gathering

In recent years it’s become impossible to ignore that fashion, art, and design are turning toward the mountains. The rugged beauty of wild places has always offered a sense of escapism and inspiration, but a seismic shift is happening. From fashion week runways draped in Gore-Tex to couture houses kitting their muses in hiking boots and alpine palettes, this merging of worlds is not a fleeting trend but now a cultural movement. Put simply in a headline on Vogue’s latest October issue, “fashion is [having] a love affair with the great outdoors.”
 
With every great creative convergence comes a designated epicenter and its catalysts. Jackson Hole, a valley that has long attracted people who want to create, connect and rethink the way beauty fits into daily life, is on its way to becoming this central backdrop. Of the many local fashion, art and design leaders who call this place home is Katie von Strasser, who grew up with the cosmopolitan energy of San Francisco and New York balanced by an adoration of the wildness of summers in the Sierras. It was that very love of the mountains that first brought Katie and her sons to Jackson ten years ago. 

Katie’s path was shaped by many years dancing at the School of American Ballet and New York City Ballet, followed by studies at Parsons School of Design in New York and at Christie’s in London. Later, she spent several formative years at the U.S. headquarters in New York at Hermès of Paris, where she learned the intricacies of the luxury fashion industry. 

Katie grew up amidst artists and collectors. Her great-grandmother, who hiked alpine trails in espadrilles with red manicures, taught her that refinement and adventure were not opposites, but companions. From an early age, Katie was setting tables with linens brought back from European trips, arranging dishes and flowers with an artistic touch. Similar to being back in the ballet studio doing choreography, tablescapes have always been a way for Katie to create atmospheres and orchestrate experiences that bring people together. This skill has become her signature and the impetus for her company, InspiratumColligere, a curated global network and atelier in Jackson’s emerging Arts District. IC is both a physical and conceptual space where visionaries in art, fashion, beauty, interiors and technology gather to share ideas, start ventures and find inspiration in one another’s work.

At its core, IC is about bridging worlds and ensuring that voices from both local and global perspectives are present at the same table. Founders meet designers, investors share ideas with artists and international members are introduced to Jackson’s homegrown talent. What emerges goes beyond networking and fosters genuine mentorship and collaboration.

That philosophy comes to life most vividly through IC’s Founder’s Salon, a three-day experience in July in the Tetons where leaders across the aforementioned industries gather for intimate dinners, cocktails and panel discussions. Attendees of this year’s inaugural salon at the IC atelier, Guesthouse in Wilson, and Snake River Ranch remarked of the “magic” of the valley. A number of meaningful partnerships have since been formed across industries and borders. 

For Katie, Jackson is more than just a backdrop, its energy is the entire thesis of the network. Unlike any major city, Jackson draws people out of their routines and into the grounding, natural beauty of the Tetons. IC’s goal is not to emulate the fashion house-fueled rhythms of New York, Paris or London, but to offer something uniquely impactful. While “InspiratumColligere” means “to be inspired by a gathering” in Latin, Katie envisions IC as a legacy project: one that fuels the creative economy, amplifies visionaries and builds connections that endure well beyond the gatherings.