Cape district textile student wins gold in state contest

Cape district textile student Luna Pavon netted a gold medal in fashion design at a state competition, qualifying her for the Family, Career and Community Leaders of America national competition. 

For the state event, held in February at the Rehoboth Beach Convention Center, Luna designed a series of tuxedos in Egyptian, Japanese, Western and British styles, in what she called a line of feminine, graceful, formal attire designed for high-end clients. 

“They buy clothes for clout, self-esteem and a sense of accomplishment,” Luna said.

She adorned the collar, sleeves and cuffs with permananent fabric paint.

“The Japanese one is my favorite,” she said. “It has more detail.”

A Sussex Consortium student at Cape High, Luna is in her third year of the textiles program. She won silver in last year’s virtual competition for designing and creating a Japanese kimono. 

What makes Luna’s accomplishments particularly sweet, said Cape High family and consumer sciences teacher Alayna Aiken, is that Luna has autism.

“For some, autism may seem like a disability, but in a pathway like fashion studies that requires creative and out-of-the-box thinking, Luna has been able to shine,” Aiken said. “It does take extra time and patience to redirect and refocus Luna, but it is always worth it when she gets to that sweet spot of making what she has pictured in her mind.”

Luna faced additional challenges during the competition, Aiken said; she had to present her designs to judges in a closed-door session.

“FCCLA does not give accommodations, does not allow a support person, and there are a lot of points given for the oral presentation,” Aiken said. “The Consortium team had Luna repeatedly practice the flow of her presentation, which gave her the tools to self-pace and self-direct. Their hard work paid off as Luna is a gold medal winner!”

Everything Luna sews is her own creation. Luna said her favorite part of the design process is figuring out which of her ideas will look best. She incorporates her own measurements into a pattern software system to create and print designs that she traces onto fabric and then sews. 

To complete her tuxedo, Luna said she worked in class, after school, and during her resource and lunch periods.

“There were a lot of details,” she said. “I was on crunch time.”

Right now, designing and sewing clothes is a hobby for Luna, who has two more years until she graduates. Although she qualified for the national competition, Luna will not be attending. 

Luna is a meticulous sewer, Aiken said. She spent only about a minute celebrating her victory before moving on to design her prom dress.

“She had the sample fitting dress sewn by the next class period, and now she is working on making a very blinged-out turquoise gown,” Aiken said. “Luna’s drive to learn and her creative expression make being her teacher a lot of fun.”

Cape students earning silver medals at the state FCCLA conference are Victoria Vincent, fashion construction; Mitchell Bunting, culinary arts; and Christopher Conners, culinary arts.