Lufkin High School senior Brenden Flakes said he and his Fashion Design classmates treated their dress design project as if they were working for an actual business.

Brenden was one of Fashion Design teacher Katie Pruitt’s students who competed in the FCCLA regional competition in Waco this past weekend.

“The dress we made is a business casual dress for women in the 25- to 45-year-old demographic,” he said. “We constructed the piece using a combination flat pattern designing and draping. It’s 100 percent handmade. From start to finish, it took about a month and a half to finish.”

The event in Waco was the first round of competition for Fashion Design 2 and 3 students. The top two students for Fashion Design 2 compete in Fashion Construction, in which they make an outfit from an existing pattern. They get to design the fabrics and make a board, then present it to a panel of judges.

Fashion Design 3 competes in the Fashion Design competition, in which they design a line of clothes that includes four to five outfits, then make a pattern for an outfit from scratch and present their marketing plan for that outfit.

Brendan said he and his partner, senior Itzel Silva, inspired to make the dress based on their brand.

“‘Exzuberance’ means anything that’s full of quality, life, energy,” he said.

Brenden said he did more of the business aspect of the project, and Itzel did the sewing, the stitching, the forming and pattern-making. Senior Lesley Barrientos modeled the dress they made.

Other LHS students who competed in fashion and food events at the FCCLA competition in Waco this past weekend included Gisselle Fuentes, Adriana Garcia, Angeli Sandoval, Maryuri Valdez-Valle, Anabigail Alvarado, Je’Rian Cooper, Verania Martinez, Moises Montilla and Maritza Romero.