Meet Rayah, Nordstrom's BP. Design Contest Winner!

Meet Rayah, Nordstrom's BP. Design Contest Winner!

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When you read about established clothing designers, it's usually revealed that they started their careers at a young age. But not many can say that, by the age of 17, they had their original designs carried by an international fashion retailer.

Well, seventeen-year-old Rayah Shapiro of California can proudly say it: Starting in November, her original dress design will be produced and carried in the Nordstrom BP. department, chosen as the winner of the Nordstrom BP. Fashion Board (now the Nordstrom Fashion Ambassador program) design contest held earlier this year.

Rayah designed her first piece, a gown, in 8 th grade. You can often find her at the beach (Newport and Laguna are two favorites), so it's no surprise that she loves bathing suits by L Space, Maaji and Mara Hoffman, and dreams of one day designing her own. And that beachy lifestyle comes through in her dress, a flowy babydoll with breezy open stitching and a yoke scoop back.

With a trip to our Seattle headquarters and meetings with the BP. design teams now under her belt, Rayah, now deep into college applications, is well on her way to building her fashion resume. We took a few minutes to chat with this budding designer. (Now we can say we knew her when!)

Congratulations, Rayah! Besides designing dresses, what else is going on in your life?

I'm actually really busy all the time! I'm in this art program at a local college every Saturday; I used to do high-level gymnastics and was a gymnastics coach last winter while working at Nordstrom; I like to go to the beach a lot, work out and cook. Earlier in the summer I was working 40 hours a week at Nordstrom during the Anniversary Sale. I definitely like to work!

What inspired your dress design? What other designs could we possibly see from you in the future?

I was thinking more of the new brand Sun and Shadow. I'm really drawn to it because it's more of the beachy, kind of Free-People-brand for the younger girls. I tried to base my dress off what I would wear, what my friends would wear, and then I added a little twist on it-a lower back, a little higher neck, a little lace on the side. I just wanted something that would be comfortable and that many people could look good in.

Good luck, Rayah-we can't wait to see more from you! Shop BP.

I definitely want to do a bathing suit/lingerie brand, and then after that go into more regular clothes as well-and I want to make sure it's sustainable. I know it'll be really hard trying to figure out what to make things out of, but I hope I can make it happen. Some of the schools I'm looking at are supposed to be the top in sustainability. I took environmental science this year, so I'm hoping that will help!

-Kristyn Asseff

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