Fashion impacts us all, whether we are aware of it or not. Every day that you choose to wear a certain outfit, you’re expressing yourself in a way only you can, telling the world, “This is who I am.”

Yet, we do not always find the time to recognize the designers of those clothes, who make it possible for us to express ourselves and our uniqueness. Of course, designers like Gucci, Chanel, and Armani are household names, but do we really think about how they started in their budding careers?

Junior Olivia Susin is beginning to make her way through the fashion industry, drawing beautiful sketches to help her practice what she hopes to major in when she goes to college: Fashion Design. While she’s always been an artist, Susin only recently got into fashion design.

Fashion sketches aren’t what Olivia first started drawing. She originally enjoyed drawing portraits of people. But, she reminisces, “I used to make shoes out of tape when I was little.” Like many kids, Susin was inspired by her parents, specifically her mother, to start drawing, because she thought she was a good artist.

Now that she’s decided she wants to go into fashion design, Susin explained that she wants to practice her skills now. She added, “I draw inspiration from everything… like nature and other clothes.” While she isn’t typically inspired by other artists, designer Zac Posen is a source of inspiration when she sketches gala gowns.

On making her sketches come to life, Susin revealed, “I’m making a dress right now that I designed, and it’s coming along. I’ve never made any other clothing.” Not only that, but she is also making a prom dress. That doesn’t mean she’s splurging, though.

“I’m going to try to use practical fabrics,” Susin divulged, “Since I’m not selling it, there’s no reason for it to be expensive. It will probably be less than I would pay for if I had to a buy a prom dress.”

Since she is fairly new to fashion design, she draws all sorts of fashion styles to figure out what she likes. In terms of her own personal style, Susin expresses that her artwork doesn’t reflect what she normally wears. “I wear more simple clothes and my artwork is drawing what I like to wear but don’t,” she expressed.

For Olivia, her artwork is the way she expresses herself. “I’m able to put my ideas onto paper instead of just thinking it in my head.” She typically uses Copic and Prismacolor markers to put her ideas into action.

If she keeps at it, there’s no telling what she could accomplish. Perhaps one day, Olivia Susin will be as well known as the likes of Gucci, Chanel, and Armani.