Seams come together, and fabric transforms into a garment as junior Jade Hotard designs clothing that helps her and others express themselves and feel confident.

“I feel like it’s one of the best ways to help me express myself, and help me be confident in myself,” Hotard said. “I think fashion helps me be able to do that, not only with myself, but doing that with other people.”

Hotard started sewing as a little kid, creating clothes for her dolls. She currently takes the Fashion Design II class. Students in the class are creating four designs for a runway show at the end of the year. Hotard and other designers in the class will display their pieces at the event on May 15 at the Prosper High School fashion show.

“For me, fashion has always just been something really important,” Hotard said. “I wanted to be a runway model when I was a little girl. I’ve always just been kind of drawn to, I guess – bigger entertainment stuff.”

Hotard found herself drawn to the 2000s culture and fashion trends. Watching movies like Legally Blonde along with Victoria Secret runway shows piqued her interest in fashion and design.

“I thought it was cool,” Hotard said. “I was like, ‘that’s what I want to do when I grow up.'”

Even though she enjoys fashion, Hotard said she experienced a time when she struggled with herself image.

“As I grew up, I had a lot of issues with myself, and my body image and everything,” Hotard said. “There was a whole thing of not being like other girls that was really popular in the 2010s. That was when I was becoming a middle schooler.”

Hotard said she found it difficult to feel comfortable in her own choice of style. Through her involvement in fashion culture, though, she realized that there are others who have unique styles like her.

“It’s comforting to me knowing that there are people who dress like me, and have similar views to me,” Hotard said. “And obviously, I still have my own issues that I’m working on, but I feel like it’s a step in the right direction.”

Right now, Hotard is focused on creating a collection for the end-of-year fashion show. Two of her looks are inspired by characters from Lewis Caroll’s Alice and Wonderland, Alice and the Queen of Hearts. This year’s runway show theme is “Cinema,” and each student works throughout the year to create a collection comprised of four different looks that fit the theme. According to Hotard, creating these pieces has allowed her to become more ‘aware’ of her time management.

“I’ve never had to sew on a deadline before, so I really had to learn that kind of crunch so I could do it properly,” Hotard said. “My first look. Oh, my God, it was so bad, just because I realized that I’ve never really sewn on a deadline. I feel like I’ve really learned some time management, because I have school, a job, and, I’ve really had to learn how to be able to get things done on time because I don’t have as much free time as I used to.”

When it comes to sewing and altering patterns, Hotard compares the process to baking a cake.

“You do everything in order. You start out with the idea, like if you want to make a chocolate cake,” Hotard said. “Then, if you’re making it from scratch, you get the sugar, flour, eggs, cocoa powder, and you put it all in and wait. For sewing, it’s very similar. You have a recipe, which in this case would be the pattern, and you cut out all your fabric, and then you sew and then do what other embellishments you want.”

According to Hotard, it takes patience and a willingness to learn from your mistakes to get the design you want.

“I feel like I really had to fail to realize what I need to do properly,” Hotard said. “It’s sounds really simple in concept, but it does take a lot of trial and error, especially if you aren’t taking a sewing class. I’ve always been attentive to detail, but I’ve had to be even more critical because of the short amount of time we have.”

Hotard also works on personal sewing projects outside of school.

“I’m about to turn this little vintage slip that my grandmother had into a little dress, which I’m really excited about because it’s something I will probably be wearing out of the house when it’s done,” Hotard said. “I also have some skirts I’m planning to take in just so I can wear them more. It’s just fun. Sewing is really therapeutic to me.”

Fashion allowed Hotard to see how much she has grown up over the years, and how it has inspired her to want to continue fashion design in the future.

“I used to hate myself. I didn’t see a future for myself, but now I kind of have to,” Hotard said. “I’ve grown up. I’ve changed. I’ve grown so much in the past few years. I think fashion is definitely something I might consider for my future because it’s something I love, and I think being able to help someone love themselves is something that I really want to do.”

At the fashion show, Hotard will get to display her talents and see her work come to life on a model.

“This is quite literally blood sweat and tears,” Hotard said. “So being able to show this off to people is really important to me. And who knows, it might become my career in the future.”

One thing Hotard loves about fashion is being able to use her skills to make others smile and help them feel happy with themselves.

“I did really dislike myself for a long time just because what I liked wasn’t cool at all, so being able to help other people kind of learn to love themselves and express themselves more is really important to me,” Hotard said. “No one deserves to hate themselves in their own skin, and, if clothing is something that can help someone love themselves, that’s definitely something I want to help with.”