Pulaski Academy senior turns passion for fashion into path for success

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (KATV) — A local senior has pulled double duty throughout her high school career to make her dreams a reality and with graduation on the horizon, they are more real than ever.

Malia Anderson, a senior at Pulaski Academy found her passion for fashion in 3rd grade.

“My third grade art teacher at that time, Mrs. Embry introduced me to something called curbside couture,” said Anderson. “It is at the Clinton Presidential Center and you make clothes out of trash and recycled material. I did that for 8 years after my third grade year

Anderson said academics were not her strong suit but the arts made her believe she could achieve success

“I have never been the best at academics, never stood out or taken AP courses like that so whenever I found art, I found something that I was good at and made me stand out in front of other people,” said Anderson.

She said there was at one point in time where she wasn’t in a place that had opportunities for that passion until transferring to Pulaski Academy.

“I wasn’t doing curbside couture anymore and I just couldn’t find my passion anymore so I came here, they have such a great arts program that piqued my interest again and I started to get back into fashion and now I am going to school for it,” said Anderson.

So for two years, Anderson attended school while also attending Jamileh Kamran’s Arkansas Fashion School.

She said while it was a challenge, she is now making that passion her reality as a career.

“I plan to go to the University of Arkansas and will be studying fashion merchandising and apparel design,” said Anderson. “I hope to maybe start my own business and market some of my products to places like Dillard’s and get them mass produced.”

Anderson is graduating fashion school in June of this year and will have a graduation fashion show to showcase all of her work on October 13.