By the age of 9, had already found what she would dedicate her life to. Her dream is the wonderful world of fashion and clothing production. The Colorado elementary school student was first introduced to the craft with the help of her mom, Tonya, in November 2021, and that was the beginning of an amazing dream.
As Tonya explained, one of the benefits of homeschooling a child is that they “have time to teach the kids what they want to learn. So when my kids come up to me and say, ‘I want to be a fashion designer when I grow up,’ or ‘I want to be a chef when I grow up,’ I can say, ‘You don’t have to wait until you grow up! Let’s learn together now!”
“I’ve been sewing for years, but I knew almost nothing about sewing clothes,” she continued. – So if Kaya wanted to learn how to sew something specific, like pants, I would have to figure it out to teach her how to do it.”
The girl seemed to absorb every lesson like a sponge. After her first lessons, she never ceased to amaze the internet with her creative crafts. From dresses to costumes, from flowing dresses to ripped two-piece suits, she can do it all! When she finishes sewing the next piece, she uses the hallway of her house as a runway to showcase designs that surprise even adults.
Kaya revealed that she rarely plans her designs in advance:
“I just wait for something to inspire me, whether it’s a fabric or a particular finish. And then I have a picture in my head, and I usually just start shaping the fabric until the dress matches the picture in my head.”
Every piece Kaya makes looks new.
“The one thing that never changes is that I only use very soft and comfortable fabrics,” says the young fashion designer.
Comfort is always at the forefront for Kaya: in her opinion, traditional girls’ clothing lacks it.
“I like making clothes because the masquerade dresses in the little girls’ departments are so stiff and uncomfortable,” she explains. – In my own clothes I can be very fashionable, but at the same time feel comfortable. So I can go to a tea party and then go for a scooter ride in the park, and I don’t have to change first.”
Although Kaya has made dozens of outfits, her favorite to this day is “the pink satin dress – I made it out of fabric that I hand-painted. It looks shimmering and changing color as she turns to show off the dress. Kaya and her mother buy most of their materials at thrift stores.
The fashionista dreams of becoming a professional fashion designer when she grows up, hoping to run a successful business with her best friend Ariana, with whom she has designed several pieces together. Another of her dreams is to design something for or collaborate with Zendaya.
Her dreams don’t seem that far off from being achieved. Mom and daughter have over 15,000 followers on social media and they are all eager to see what the girl will come up with next!
According to Kaya, her favorite designers are Vera Wang and Gunnar Deatherage. It was their work that motivated her to journey into the world of fashion.
“Vera and Gunner have both been very supportive and encouraging to me!” – she says.
Vera Wang-one of America’s most famous bridal wear designers, known for combining modern design with traditional elegance-noticed the talented girl and even gave her a sewing machine. Vera Wang is attentive to the work of young girls designers.
According to Vera Wang, only hard work will make a dream come true.
Kaya herself is also willing to support those who dream of sewing but are afraid she won’t make it.
“My advice for those who are just starting out is just do it,” she says. – You’ll make mistakes, but you can always fix them!”
So what does Kaya see for herself in the future?
“I’m just going to keep developing new things and trying new techniques,” she says. – As for the future, I have big plans. I want to go to college to study design with my best friend. We want to work at Starbucks together to pay for college and open our own fashion house in Paris, New York, Seattle or San Diego after college!”
