Chelsea HS student makes finals in Birmingham Fashion Week challenge

A Chelsea High School student's design made it to the runway in the finals for Birmingham Fashion Week's Rising Design Star challenge.

Ellie Burchell, 15, designed a dress with light-up accents as part of the challenge, which tasked high school-aged designers with creating an outfit out of recycled or alternative materials and without sewing.

Hundreds of students apply to participate in the Rising Design Star challenge each year, and 60 designs are selected for Birmingham Fashion Week. Those 60 designs are divided into groups of 30 and featured in shows on the opening night and second night of Birmingham Fashion Week, which this year took place from Aug. 25-27 at Boutwell Auditorium.

The 60 semi-finalist designs are then narrowed down to 30 for the final night of Birmingham Fashion Week, and winners are selected from those 30 finalists. This year, Sarah Terral of Fairhope was presented with a full scholarship to University of Alabama. Savannah College of Art and Design presented three prizes - a $1,500 per year scholarship to winning high school seniors and a full week summer seminar for non-seniors. 

SCAD selected Vestavia Hills High School student Brooke Lindsey, Mountain Brook High School student Kathryn Sours and Homewood High School student Rigdon Hendrix for the scholarships.

Scholarships were presented following the featured designer show at BFW. The show featured wedding dresses from Birmingham-based designer Heidi Elnora, and Oak Mountain High School student Stephie Soltys walked the runway during the show.