When people hear senior Vanessa Bittar’s name, they usually visualize the gorgeous blue satin dress that won her most outstanding first place at last year’s FCCLA competition. Or perhaps, the beautiful peach prom dress that earned her most outstanding and an invitation to state yet again this year.

Bittar’s passion for fashion was first inspired at a young age when she noticed her Grandma sewing and knitting, which spurred her interest.

“My grandma actually grew up making clothes for her family, so she was really into it. I thought it was cool, and it taught me that you could make anything if you set your mind to it,” Bittar said.

Bittar started to put this interest to use in middle school when she was finally able to pick out and buy her own clothes.

“I felt like picking out my own clothes had a lot of power to it because it meant I was finally becoming independent. I used that power to my advantage and that’s when I really started to develop a deep passion for basically anything fashion related,” Bittar said.

Since then, Bittar has been hard at work, focusing on fashion as a career choice all throughout high school.

Alongside fashion, Bittar is also an excellent runner. Throughout her high school years, she participated in both cross country and track and field. However, this year, Bittar took her fashion career to the next level, which meant committing three straight periods during school to fashion, as well as staying after school to finish up a dress or sketch out a design.

This left Bittar with a difficult decision to make: was competitively running something she would be able to continue to do?

Commitment is extremely critical to carrying out a successful career, and Bittar has truly proven that she has what it takes to make it in the fashion industry. Because of her dedication to fashion, Bittar decided to stop running competitively.

“It was a really hard decision to make, and I was sad to leave competitive running behind,” Bittar said. “But, I know for sure that fashion is what I need to make my priority right now in order to continue to be successful.”

Bittar’s determined attitude isn’t something that goes unnoticed by those around her.

“I feel like she’s one of those people who if they have their minds set to something, and they wanna achieve it no matter what, they can accomplish it,” classmate Maya Cayemitte said.

Cayemitte is not the only one who sees potential in Bittar — with her fashion sense and creative eye, her future career only appears bright.

“Vanessa has a great sense of fashion and design, she has an eye for details and knows what is currently trending in fashion,” fashion teacher Michelle Kline said. “She brings her own sense of style to today’s fashions.  She is dedicated to making her designs the best that they can be,”

All of Bittar’s hard work will be showcased once again in early April where she’ll have the ability to compete in the state competition.

“She’s been practicing so hard, I really think her piece is going to be super cohesive and just overall put together,” Cayemitte said.

Bittar will attend Columbia College this fall, where she’ll pursue fashion studies. She plans to end up at a school in New York in the next couple of years and hopes to kick start her fashion career by starting her own line. Make sure you’re friendly to Bittar now because it might just get you a discount on the next hottest fashion line in a couple of years.

Sidney Hines contributed to this story.