Madison LaRae has achieved more in her early fashion career than others nearly double her age.
Under her company and fashion label, she performs alterations for formal shops and creates custom gowns.
Last year, she infused her design talents into challenges while competing against fellow fashion designers in the premier season of the Lifetime Channel show, "Project Runway: Threads," securing the runner-up title.
Now, the Stover 15-year-old is gearing up to debut her first collection at Kansas City Fashion Week in March.
To assist with expenses, LaRae has launched a Kickstarter fundraising campaign in hopes to raise $2,000 by Jan. 5.
"This collection is not something I'm doing for another person but work I'm doing for me. It is still the same creativity I put into everything, but it's on a real big scale," she said.
"I grew up in a small town (in Wyoming) and now live in the small community of Stover. I'm really excited for the show; it's big fashion and I'm going to be a part of it."
Placing needle to fabric
Madison LaRae's roots in fashion began with her mother and grandmother. Sewing time with these two family matriarchs led LaRae down an ambitious path to design and create her own looks.
At age 10, she first started sewing on her own while involved in 4-H.
She remembers the first garment she crafted. "It was a formal gown, blue and green, knee length, had sequins and the cursive "L' on it. I have always had a formal look to my designs," she said, noting that piece was entered into the Wyoming State Fair competition and others in the 4-H Fashion Review in later years.
That cursive "L" is now used in LaRae's design label, LaRae Fashions, and her original garments, fulfilling a dream she has had since she was a young child.
"Fashion has always been a dream of mine since I was little kid. I wanted to have my own fashion label and call it LaRae Fashions since I was 6 or 7 years old," she said. "I wanted to carry that out now I have my label and is a reminder of where I started."
LaRae began her business selling custom costumes to party entertainers and cosplayers, and offering alteration services to formal wear shops. However, her elegance and style now allows her to create custom gowns for clients.
Bold and edgy
That same bold ambition and edgy fashion sense also caught the eyes of those casting for "Project Runway: Threads," a Lifetime Channel show that mirrored the popular competition of "Project Runway" for young teen and "tween fashion designers. Last year, LaRae discovered the show was having casting calls online.
"The message said, "Teen Fashion Designers Wanted,'" she said, noting that it has posted just 10 minutes before she started looking at it online.
LaRae was one of the first to enter, contacting the company directly and then completing an online interview. Several days later, the company contact LaRae and set up a Skype interview with her and her mother, Tracey. A few months later, LaRae found out she was selected and flew out to the filming location in May 2014.
"It was a crazy, whirlwind filming over five days. We flew out on Monday and filmed Tuesday through Thursday," she said, noting she took Tracey as her assistant. "It was very fast-paced but a really neat experience. In that scenario and in that environment, it pushes you. It made me realize this is what I want to do."
LaRae connects with people directly through her fashion. According to her website, she makes bold statements with her clothing, calling on vintage inspirations with modern elements.
Her first collection premiering at Kansas City Fashion Week will do just that.
Inspired by the timeless city of Paris, and the strength it demonstrated after the November 2015 terrorist attacks, L'amour Paris 2016 is an essential collection for the modern young woman making her own path in life, LaRae said.
"What I saw was not all the fear and cruelty but what I saw afterward. You had these people who had just gone through a horrible tragedy standing strong and you saw the world standing strong with them," she said. "To me, that concept of moving forward and being strong in a time of hardship was really inspiring to me. I wanted the collection to capture just how timeless, how beautiful and how strong the city of Paris itself was."
Making the show
LaRae said most designers start their collections early. However, she only had a few days to submit her initial designs to premier them at Kansas City Fashion Week after the host site extended its application process by one week due to a technical issue.
After two days of crunching out her designs and working through the computer application process, she now has breathing room through the winter to prepare her 10-piece collection for its debut.
LaRae does work in her parent's restaurant, Scarlett's Supper Club in Stover, where she earns money through tips.
However, LaRae said the cost to have a collection in a fashion show is expensive. She is funding a large portion of the overall costs herself and has received a lot of support from family and friends.
The teen launched a Kickstarter to help fund $2,000 for the release of her new collection, and as of last Thursday had raised $882.
To donate or to learn more about LaRae's Kickstarter campaign, visit www.kickstarter.com/projects/1956589626/larae-fashions-debut-collection-lamour-paris-2016. To watch a video about her project and collection, visit ksr-video.imgix.net/projects/2213779/video-619217-h264_high.mp4. For more information bout LaRae Fashions, visit www.LaRaeFashions.com.