Ivy Holland of Fredericksburg, Texas is grand prize winner in the Fashion Marketing & Merchandising and Retail Management category of The Art Institutes Passion for Fashion Competition 2009.
Ivy is currently a senior at Fredericksburg High School, a small town not far The Art Institute of Austin where she plans to earn a bachelor's degree in Fashion Retail Management.
Her love for fashion developed in her early teens. Ivy has always had an eye for fashion. Her interest in the fashion industry increased in high school when she started watching "America's Next Top Model" and "Project Runway."
In her spare time, Ivy designs her own fashion garments, is a member of the DECA Marketing Club at her school and works at and art gallery.
Ivy's entry into The Art Institutes Passion for Fashion Competition was a line of handbags she designed herself. All of the bags are made out of car upholstery, a durable fabric that is wasting away in junk yards all around the country. She harvested all of the material with a box cutter at a junk yard near her home. The handbags combine‘Eco Friendly' materials with a unique design to produce a useable and trendy product.
After Ivy earns her degree from The Art Institute of Austin, she hopes to become an event planner and travel the world, coordinating and heading up the hottest fashion shows for the hottest designers. In her career, she hopes to be able to utilize her skills to help promote non-profit organizations.