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Blue Springs, MO —
Alaina Aylward has been sewing since she was 5 years old. She said it was something her mother enjoyed doing, so she picked it up as a hobby.
It was not until she entered middle school, however, that she started devoting more time to it. She started taking classes, enrolling in summer programs and working with private teachers to learn more about sewing and, ultimately, fashion design.
“I love making something no one else has,” said the sophomore at Blue Springs High School. “It is something I love doing, so I don’t see it as work. It also allows me to be creative and combine two of my passions, sewing and art.”
Aylward recently placed first in the Fashion Design Senior Category at the FCCLA State Leadership Conference. The first-place award qualifies her to compete at the national competition this summer in Orlando, Fla.
As part of the competition’s requirements, she had to design a six-piece collection, along with presenting a detailed portfolio. She also had to showcase one of the collection’s pieces, which includes a pair of pants, shirt and a jacket – all of which she sewed herself. The portfolio includes sketches of all her pieces, patterns for her three-piece sample garment, information about potential careers and any other additional research.
The last portion of the competition is a 10-minute oral presentation about the collection in front of a panel of judges.
Although Aylward said she draws inspiration from everything around her, the inspiration for this collection came from baking and sweets.
“I love all of the textures and colors of things like cupcakes, cakes and pies,” she said. “I looked at different recipes to find which colors and ideas I liked the best.”
Renee Herman, a family and consumer science teacher at Blue Springs High School, said she encouraged Aylward to join the FCCLA program last fall. She said Aylward has an “incredible attention to detail” and has really shined in both the regional and state competitions.
“I met her three years ago during a summer school class and saw then that she has a real passion for this,” Herman said. “I think through FCCLA, she has had a chance to develop her talent and have a lot of fun with it. She is an incredible artist.”
Aylward said her biggest challenge, aside from public speaking, was constructing the jacket. She said there is a lot of detail in it with zippers and other design elements. While she is planning on leaving much of the jacket alone, she does plan on redesigning and re-constructing the shirt and pants before nationals.
Alaina Aylward has been sewing since she was 5 years old. She said it was something her mother enjoyed doing, so she picked it up as a hobby.
It was not until she entered middle school, however, that she started devoting more time to it. She started taking classes, enrolling in summer programs and working with private teachers to learn more about sewing and, ultimately, fashion design.
“I love making something no one else has,” said the sophomore at Blue Springs High School. “It is something I love doing, so I don’t see it as work. It also allows me to be creative and combine two of my passions, sewing and art.”
Aylward recently placed first in the Fashion Design Senior Category at the FCCLA State Leadership Conference. The first-place award qualifies her to compete at the national competition this summer in Orlando, Fla.
As part of the competition’s requirements, she had to design a six-piece collection, along with presenting a detailed portfolio. She also had to showcase one of the collection’s pieces, which includes a pair of pants, shirt and a jacket – all of which she sewed herself. The portfolio includes sketches of all her pieces, patterns for her three-piece sample garment, information about potential careers and any other additional research.
The last portion of the competition is a 10-minute oral presentation about the collection in front of a panel of judges.
Although Aylward said she draws inspiration from everything around her, the inspiration for this collection came from baking and sweets.
“I love all of the textures and colors of things like cupcakes, cakes and pies,” she said. “I looked at different recipes to find which colors and ideas I liked the best.”
Renee Herman, a family and consumer science teacher at Blue Springs High School, said she encouraged Aylward to join the FCCLA program last fall. She said Aylward has an “incredible attention to detail” and has really shined in both the regional and state competitions.
“I met her three years ago during a summer school class and saw then that she has a real passion for this,” Herman said. “I think through FCCLA, she has had a chance to develop her talent and have a lot of fun with it. She is an incredible artist.”
Aylward said her biggest challenge, aside from public speaking, was constructing the jacket. She said there is a lot of detail in it with zippers and other design elements. While she is planning on leaving much of the jacket alone, she does plan on redesigning and re-constructing the shirt and pants before nationals.
“I want to make them to look more like my sketches and to fit with my vision,” she said. “I tweaked my presentation after regionals too. I just want to be better prepared to compete against everyone on the national level. I want to step it up a notch.”
One of Aylward’s favorite designers is Betsy Johnson. She said she loves her crazy style. However, there is something else that the high school student loves to do – deconstruct thrift store finds to make them more modern.
“I make a lot of clothes for myself,” she said. “I really love taking old things I find in thrift stores and making them younger. I love the creativity I can use doing that.”
Although Aylward still has two years left in high school, she knows exactly what she wants to do after she graduates – become a fashion designer.
“All of the schools in New York look really interesting. I would also love to do an internship in Paris,” she said. “I am really just trying to learn as much as I can before I graduate so I am prepared for college. I believe I am in a much different spot than I was a year ago. I am so much more prepared for whatever comes next.”
