Not many people can say they discovered their biggest passion walking down an aisle at Target.

Junior Zoe Mack has been developing her love of fashion design ever since she was 10 years old and found a Monster High stencil pack at Target, leading her to stencil out clothes onto Monster High characters. Since then, Mack’s persistence and creativity have shone through her art as she pursues her passion for fashion design.

“It used to be a lot of doodling because I got bored in class a lot when I was younger. I would doodle on my homework,” Mack said. “The doodling got more interesting, so I started using a sketchbook.”

Ever since Mack started bringing her sketchbook with her to school in seventh grade, she has come to specialize in designing wedding dresses and costume-like clothing. Mack finds inspiration for her designs from anime, K-pop and childhood TV shows such as Monster High.

“When I listen to music, it also helps me get ideas, and sometimes it just comes randomly,” Mack said. “Sometimes I’ll be looking at a piece of food and I realize, ‘Oh my gosh, I can draw this in an outfit.’”

According to Mack’s friend, junior Charles Musco, Mack brings a unique perspective on how she thinks and how she views the world through her drawings.

“The things that she draws, they’re not just a template that she takes and fills in. She comes up with the designs, the ideas and the roles herself,” Musco said.

Junior Amelia Delcamino-Yang, a friend of Mack, said that Mack’s attention to detail and vivid imagination all contribute to her intricate designs.

“When describing concepts and ideas, she does it in a really detailed fashion. That’s where I see her creativity, as well as in these outfits. I would have never thought to design these sorts of outfits. They’re all really different and unique,” Delcamino-Yang said.

In the future, Mack hopes to bring her outfits to life, becoming a full-fledged designer who also sews her pieces and creates her own clothes.

“I’m slowly trying to design more professionally, whereas a while ago, I would just draw a random dress on a piece of paper,” Mack said. “Now, I actually draw a mannequin, try to get the proportions correct and make sure the clothes on the mannequin are something you can actually wear.”

Mack’s passion and dedication to fashion design have also offered inspiration to her peers, including Delcamino-Yang.

“I find it inspiring because Zoe’s stuck with the idea of becoming a fashion designer since middle school. I look up to her in that way,” Delcamino-Yang said. “She’s always been firm on that decision, and she has persisted by practicing her drawings and constantly improving.”