At Lift for Life Academy, a charter school in the historic Soulard neighborhood, students are humming along under the instruction of Alexis Cook.
"Just make sure this is lined up right there," she explains to a student.
She's been teaching fashion design at the school for four years.
"They're just so fun and creative, they always think outside of the box," she points out.
She's not just showing them how to sew on a button. These talented young ladies and one gentleman are making detailed dresses, jackets and skirts.
"This was one of our senior, she is actually going to school for fashion and she made this complete skirt out of zippers."
They are impressive pieces from afar, but even more extraordinary when you learn a lot of these students walked through the door not knowing how to thread a needle.
"Well, I knew how to sew because my grandma taught me to sew, but it was like the sewing machine part that I didn't know cause it's a little difficult to thread it," Shamia Banks, a freshmen explains.
She designed a cute corduroy dress.
"It's basically every girl needs that dress, perfect blue dress, that one dress that makes them special," she goes on to say.
Throughout the year, each seamstress stitched together a couple of garments.
"This is my dress," Knyjah Boyd, a sophomore says pulling it from the rack.
Pieces they'll then slip into and show off in a fancy fashion show.
"It's amazing to see them wear it on the runway because they're confidence is just like, they're just so excited that they've actually seen the product from the very beginning to the very end," Cook adds.
"I mean who wouldn't want to be a supermodel for a day," Banks points out.
Of course the real hope is that this class is a pattern for success in whatever these students choose to do later. A reminder they can do anything if they put their mind to it.
"They blow me away," Cook says.
Celebrating Success Fashion Show
Sunday May 6th
Ritz-Carlton
314-588-0007
http://www.liftforlifeacademy.org/events/fashionshow2018/
