DAVENPORT, Fla. — There was a time when Davenport High School freshman Gloria Elias, holding a very rare pair of hand-painted Taylor Swift jeans, had different career plans.
"I originally wanted to be a therapist, but now I love this," she said.
"This" is the brand-new Fashion Lab at the relatively brand-new Polk County school.
The fashion design program is the hot class at Davenport; 200 kids are enrolled, with another 400 on the waiting list.
"When they asked me to be the teacher, I couldn't say no," said Jomayra Rodriguez, a fashion-industry vet who leads the class. "This is so empowering."
Rodriguez teaches her students how to sew, but what she's really aiming for is freeing their minds through clothing design.
"They don't necessarily have to be the next designer," Rodriguez said. "But I do want them to open up their creativity."
This Friday at 7 p.m., the students will host an epic Fashion Show at the school. The public is invited. Tickets are $5, and proceeds go back into the program to pay for supplies.
For Davenport senior Faresha Alli— whose younger sister Elsadieka will be modeling her creations on the Fashion Show runway — she never knew fashion could be such a source of self-expression.
"What I learned is that you can really put what you believe in into the clothes that you make," said Alli.
