Forward-thinking Fashionista: Alyssa Lopez

You+can+vote+for+junior+Alyssa+Lopez%2C+aspiring+fashion+designer%2C+as+the+2014+Fashion+It+Girl+by+following+the+instructions+here%3A+http%3A%2F%2Fgetonlinevotes.com%2Ffashion-it-girl-2015-search-alyssa-lopez%2F

Photo provided by Alyssa Lopez

You can vote for junior Alyssa Lopez, aspiring fashion designer, as the 2014 Fashion It Girl by following the instructions here: http://getonlinevotes.com/fashion-it-girl-2015-search-alyssa-lopez/

Overalls, jumpsuits, and trench coats are just some of the many intriguing clothing options for Alyssa Lopez, a junior with a unique fashion sense according to most conventional standards.

“[My clothes] depends on my mood,” said Lopez, who has always been in love with fashion.

Lopez is currently in the running to become Fame and Partners’ Fashion It Girl 2015, an online contest where girls around the country submit a photo expressing their style and explain why they think they should be the next Fashion It Girl. The contest, sponsored by women’s clothing companies Elle Magazine, ASOS, and Fame and Partners, is won by the total number of votes a candidate receives by Feb. 28, 2015.

The winner of the national contest will intern with the trendy fashion phenomenon ASOS for two weeks in New York City and receive a one year contract to be a fashion ambassador. The ambassador contract includes an individual blog on the Fame and Partners website, sponsors for individual projects, and, of course, recognition from other fashion companies.

Lopez hopes to win in order to gain hands-on-training in the fashion world. “Looking at stuff to do outside of the state would be fun. I devote myself to fashion, and I’m a leader,” she said. “It’d be a really independent activity.”

As an aspiring designer, she dedicates the majority of her free time to fashion. “I don’t have a fifth period, so I usually sit in the library after I finish my homework and sketch maybe two or three gowns at most,” Lopez said.

Lopez credited Sophia Amoruso, founder and owner of Nasty Gal, as one of her biggest inspirations, stating that she hopes to be just as successful. Nasty Gal is an American-based retailer known for offering young women edgier, fashion-forward clothing options, and has become a multi-million dollar corporation within a decade of its creation. “I love everything she does. If she sells the company, I’d still love her because she was the one to start it,” she said. “I’d say she is one of my biggest inspirations because she’s a businesswoman.”

As far as designers, Lopez favors novices off the show Project Runway due to their creativity. “I really like Fabio Costa,” she said, referring to the season 10 victor . “He can make anything look good. He can put a blanket on you and bam! It’s Chanel.”

As for future plans she hopes to attend FIDM (Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising) straight out of high school. “My dream is to have a billion-dollar fashion corporation where I’d be in demand to design couture gowns for celebrities and have seasonal fashion shows, but I also have to look at the realistic side of it,” she said.

One of Lopez’s hobbies involving fashion is up-cycling clothes found at Goodwill and sewing them into new pieces. “[Goodwill] is the best place ever,” she said. “People don’t look at [thrift stores] as valuable places, but to me, Goodwill is a way of life.”

However, wearing different clothes at school often gets her many stares. “[People] will always have their opinion, and I will have mine,” said Lopez. “I just think differently than others.”