Rachel Brown, 17 years old and a senior at Arlington Memorial High School, is the recent recipient of a $25,000 scholarship from Teen Vogue Magazine and the Council of Fashion Designers of America, said the Bennington Banner. The prestigious award is given to only one high school senior in the U.S. She also received a trip to Fashion Week in NYC, a sewing machine, and shopping spree at Target, in addition to the scholarship. Rachel has been interested in fashion since the ninth grade when she began to make her own clothes. “It’s all about self-expression,” she said, “expressing who you are through design.” Rachel plans to use her scholarship to attend Massachusetts College of the Arts in Boston or a NYC fashion school. But for now, she is planning to design her own and friends’ prom dress and to have a fashion show as her senior project. Her major fashion influences?

Christian Dior and Coco Chanel. You can’t go too wrong with them.