NY Times features GPS girl designer

Madison Waldrop might just be one of the next hot designers, and she's barely a teenager.

Madison, an eighth grader at Girls Preparatory School, was featured in a Feb. 24 New York Times article about "kiddie couturiers," teen and pre-teen clothing designers.

"I think I've always had an interest in clothing," she said in a phone interview. "All that girly, fashion-type stuff, I've always been that way. I've never been overly obsessive with it, but always had a like for it."

Though she does not prioritize trends, she said, Madison admires the work of designers Ralph Lauren, Vera Wang and Tommy Hilfiger for "Their whole entire design careers, they always stayed true to what they believed is a good design, she said. "That is really good inspiration."

Last March, the Waldrop family was waiting for a delayed flight when Christine Waldrop noticed her daughter sketching some dress designs. She took the drawings to a friend who is a designer and the friend encouraged her to have Madison continue her efforts.

"I saw (Madison's dress drawings) and said ŒI would wear that," said Waldrop.

With her parents' help, Madison, 13, is creating an eveningwear collection, Designs by Malyse (Mal-Eese), named for her first initial and middle name, Alyse, also the name of a loved aunt.

She enjoys creating "bold, confident" pieces she says are a reflection of herself.

"Whenever I design a dress, that is me right there. It is me in another form. I put my heart into every single one of my designs."