CONVOY — At 15 years old, Jacquelyn LeMieux is already turning heads with her fashion design.
A lifelong interest in dancing and drawing led Jacquelyn to enter a national competition called “Design Your Dream,” which asked participants to sketch a dance costume.
Jacquelyn’s drawing was one of three designs chosen to be made into an actual costume. The three designs were then posted to the Revolution Dancewear Facebook page, where people voted for their favorite costume.
Though Jacquelyn didn’t win the competition, she continues to design dancewear. In fact, she is starting her own handmade dance apparel boutique called Graceful Monkey. Jacquelyn’s mother, Jonna, explained that Grace is her middle name and her nickname is Monkey.
For LeMieux, not winning the competition may have been a blessing in disguise for her daughter.
“I think not winning that competition was the best thing that could have happened for her because she would have been focused solely on one design, and now she can focus on creating many designs,” LeMieux said.
Jacquelyn said she has been drawing ever since she can remember, and has focused on sketching fashion designs for the last eight years.
“I used to get those little books where you use stencils to draw on these mannequins, like doing their hair and makeup and clothing,” she said. “I’ve just always done stuff like that.”
She said she enjoys fashion designing because it allows her to be imaginative.
“I like that I can be creative and draw up things that I would want to wear or that other young girls can wear,” she said. “I like having my own designs and making things I don’t see anywhere else.”
Jacquelyn said her dream is to become a fashion designer, and with one of her designs already made into a costume and her own boutique opening soon, she seems to be well on her way.
.neFileBlock {
margin-bottom: 20px;
}
.neFileBlock p {
margin: 0px 0px 0px 0px;
}
.neFileBlock .neFile {
border-bottom: 1px dotted #aaa;
padding-bottom: 5px;
padding-top: 10px;
}
.neFileBlock .neCaption {
font-size: 85%;
}
