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Schools

Los Gatos Patch Whiz Kid of the Week—Gabrielle Rothschild

This young fashion designer is already making it work.

  • Gabrielle Rothschild, 14
  • School: Fisher Middle School
  • Accomplishment: Gabrielle, an aspiring fashion designer, created her own clothing line.  
  • Key to Awesomeness: One morning I pulled up to drop my sons off at school when a girl caught my eye. Amid the sea of Abercrombie and Uggs and short shorts, she glided through the front gate dressed so chicly in black stockings and heels, she could have joined Sarah Jessica Parker’s Sex and the City posse in a middle-school minute. 

Who was this fashionista? I had to know.

Turns out she is Gabrielle Rothschild, teenage designer extraordinaire. Gabrielle first became interested in fashion in the third grade. “I thought I wanted to be an actress,” she says, “but then I watched the Oscars and the Grammy’s, and all I cared about were those gorgeous dresses coming down the red carpet.”

After she realized making clothes would be much more exciting than just wearing them, Gabrielle began sewing frocks on her mom’s vintage machine. Year before last, Santa delivered a Brother sewing machine. She has since upgraded to a “super nice, fancy Baby Lock Serger.” Now, at age 14, in addition to her 2011 collection, which consists of dresses, shorts, skirts and tops, she also created Gabrielle Gowns, a line of prom/dance dresses.

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Gabrielle says that once inspiration hits, she sketches the design, then consults with her “wonderful” sewing teacher, Dori Duncan. Gabrielle hasn’t learned to make patterns yet, so she usually purchases patterns and alters them to fit her sketch. Next she selects the fabric, drapes it, and begins the sewing process. In all, creating one of her elaborate gowns (including a recent hot pink, silk Grecian goddess number) can take between 15-20 hours.

A Francophile who finds inspiration for her clothing line in the Arc de Triomphe, Monet’s garden, 31 Rue Cambon and, especially, la Tour Eiffel (the Eiffel Tower), Gabreille is counting the days (114) until she visits the country for the first time this summer with her French class. Afterward, it's off to London where she will attend a three-week design program. 

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But first she will hold a trunk show at later this spring.

Gabrielle dreams that one day when Ryan Seacrest asks an impossibly chic actress gliding down a red carpet who made her dress, the star will smile and say, “Oh, I’m wearing Gabrielle Rothschild.”

Somehow this dream seems all too achievable.

To learn more, visit gabriellefashions.com.

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