Allen Park High School senior Amanda Gyuran (center) receives a certificate from Teen Vogue Editor in Chief Amy Astley (left) and fashion designer Vera Wang (right) at a ceremony in New York in October after winning a national design competition sponsored by the magazine, Target, and The Council of Fashion Designers of America.
Several of Amanda Gyuran’s designs, like this one, have been sold on Etsy.com.
By ANDREA POTEET
Sunday Times Newspapers
ALLEN PARK— A local teen is designing her future, one stitch at a time.
Amanda Gyuran, 18, hopes to be working as a fashion designer by her 22nd birthday.
And she already has a head start: she won a national fashion design contest, sponsored by the Council of Fashion Designers of America, Teen Vogue magazine and Target in October. The title earned her a full-page spread in the April 2011 edition of Teen Vogue.
Gyuran has been interested in fashion since childhood, but in recent years began thinking more about the work that went into some of her favorite clothes.
“I would ask myself in a store, ‘How was this made and can I do it?,’” she said.
After attending a class at Birmingham-Bloomfield Art Center when she was in 10th grade, Gyuran said she was convinced to try her hand at her own designs, some of which she sells on the design Website Etsy.com.
As her skills improved, Gyuran decided to enter the annual contest, which she had seen advertised in the magazine for years. For two months, she devoted herself to creating a mood board, showcasing examples of her designs, even sacrificing her lunch breaks at Allen Park High School to make sure the project was perfect.
“At first, I didn’t think I had any chances of winning,” Gyuran said. “Then I got an email stating that I was in the top 10. Then I knew that I had more of a chance.”
She said the hardest part of the competition was being interviewed via Skype by the judges.
“I was so nervous,” Gyuran said. “I’m a very reserved and modest person, so talking to people about myself is very challenging.”
For her work, Gyuran won a $25,000 college scholarship. She and her parents also traveled to New York, where Amanda attended fashion courses with Target designers and met with noted fashion designer Vera Wang and Teen Vogue Editor-in-Chief Amy Astley, who presented her with the award at a ceremony at the end of the week.
“Everything about this experience is amazing, it will open so many doors for me and gave me the confidence that I can do anything if I set my mind to it,” Gyuran said.
Gyuran said she plans to use that newfound confidence when she enrolls at fashion school in New York in the fall. She is hoping to attend either Parsons The New School for Design or Fashion Institute of Technology. She also will intern with the Target design team, which she hopes ultimately will lead to a job with a designer like Givenchy — and one day to her own line.
Though she said she was thrilled to win prizes for her designs, Guyran said she gets the most satisfaction out of the process itself.
“Fashion is empowering,” she said. “It makes me feel good. It shows true self-expression and individuality. I love the fact that I can make another woman feel beautiful and confident. That’s what brings me the most joy.”