Training Camp

Twenty-seven high school kids sit in the basement of Fashion Show mall surrounded by half-dressed mannequins, random fabric scraps and walls covered in magazine tear sheets. Some arrive with a Marc Jacobs handbag over one shoulder and Chanel sunglasses shading their eyes, others sport Payless polka-dot ballet flats and fluorescent denim from Forever 21. All of them stare at the stylish man in white linen pants and chunky jewelry before them with the same attention they would give a text message from their first crush.

He talks of disappearing nude-colored shoes, winged eyeliner and the importance of cobalt blue. Then, as their camp director, Karl Marshall sends them off to Macy's for the next hour-and-a-half to pull clothes for a fashion show.

These students might never sing along to "Kumbaya," melt marshmallows for a s'more or discover an appreciation for outdoor plumbing, but this fashion camp has a completely different appeal aside from building bonds. For these students, the $150, six-day camp that encourages teens to "redesign (their) world" lays down the pavement to the fashion road they hope to follow.

"I have my own little vision of the world and I want to get it out there, but I don't know how to do it," said Brandon Rojas of North Las Vegas. "I thought this would be a great start."

Clad in skinny white jeans and an animal print vest with a sewn-in hot pink ascot, Rojas' style clearly veers outside the Abercrombie & Fitch lines of fashion. Even here at Cotton's Fashion Camp at Fashion Show mall, he sets himself apart from the Tory Burch and Louis Vuitton admirers, citing flamboyant Heatherette designers Richie Rich and Traver Rains as his role models. The 16-year-old Legacy High School junior says he would like to one day be considered in the same vein as Andy Warhol and David LaChapelle, only as an artist who happens to make clothes.

With his high hopes and fashion muse already established (transexual icon Amanda Lepore), Rojas gives the impression that he could recite a designer of the year acceptance speech for someone willing to listen. According to director Marshall, he and his staff are more than happy to help him fulfill that goal. "Half of this camp is just about listening to these kids and their beautiful ideas," Marshall said.

But creative minds usually require creative means of expression, a quality the corporate world has difficulty appreciating. Astute to this often career-stunting trait, the camp director and his team require campers to deliver a presentation for each of their projects. For a few of the challenges -- which included an extreme makeover, redesigning denim, mannequin transformations and prom dress turnarounds -- the campers are judged by a panel of professionals. By the end of camp, Marshall hopes the presentations allow kids to take their artistic ideas and translate them to the business side in a comprehensive, articulate manner.

This marks the "real world" element of Fashion Camp. Most of the kids enrolled out of a love for fashion but, as countless fashion flunkies have learned, love doesn't pay the bills.

Elissa Fountain, 17, who attended camp all the way from Lansing, Mich., seems to have a tight grasp on the concept. She hopes to flex her fashion muscles while simultaneously making the corporate dollar and benefitting those in need. "I think I want to be the kind of designer where the proceeds go to different things," she said, while wearing her "Red" shirt from Gap, which benefits women and children affected by HIV/AIDS in Africa.

According to Marshall, Fashion Camp aims to do a lot of things: provide hands-on experience, teach kids to think fast on their feet and show them how to focus on their creative goals. But, those lessons pale in comparison with the camp's primary objective, which is to instill confidence in the campers. "You need to have confidence when someone wants to know why a certain color is best or why they should be wearing a certain outfit," Marshall said.

It may seem like it would be easier to strip Donald Trump of his confidence than to instill it in teens striving for a career in a highly image-conscious industry. But, Marshall says it comes back to the open-ear policy. "They just want to be heard," he said.

That includes Mege Gomez, 17, of Silverado. Her black and pink striped fingernails, septum nose ring and copper-streaked hair all scream for attention but it's all just a part of "Monster Couture." "I call it that because my nickname is Monster and they call me that because I'm really like, 'raaar' but I'm really shy too," she said.

But not too shy. Apparently Fashion Camp and its confidence-instilling goals have made headway with at least one camper. "When it's my time to shine -- I totally do," said Gomez.