Over 6 years ago, Peyton Brownlee attended her first fashion show at NC state, hoping that one day she could be one of the designers. This was around the time that she was still learning how to sew on paper towels and making her first pair of pajama pants in her high school teacher, Jacquelyn Berg’s, Apparel I class. Her dream came true December 2021 where she presented her senior collection on that same runway she looked up to all those years ago.
“I think back on the things I used to wear to class in high school and kinda laugh. It wouldn’t have been uncommon for me to wear heels and a dress just because I felt like it,” said Peyton Brownlee, fashion designer.
I think back on the things I used to wear to class in highschool and kinda laugh. It wouldn’t have been uncommon for me to wear heels and a dress just because I felt like it
— Peyton Brownlee
Her passion for creating unique designs and clothing began at a young age when she would “modify” or as her parents like to say “destroy”, her clothing with scissors, paint, glitter or anything the young girl seemed to have in her hands. She’s always enjoyed dressing up and making herself clothes that the average young girl wouldn’t wear. This mindset followed her throughout high school where she designed and handmade her own prom dress. Her interest in fashion has been her inspiration for pursuing an education and career in the industry. She frequented local thrift and consignment stores to score her next “find”.
“I always knew that I wanted to pursue a career in an industry that I’d enjoy,” said Brownlee.
Her interests just happened to be in the fashion and apparel industry, which some people would consider a dream career. In addition to her interest in fashion, Brownlee’s mother has played an important role in her motivation to pursue her career. She has always looked up to her mom more than anyone. She has been successfully doing a career that she loves and, like Brownlee, works extremely hard in all aspects of her life.
“I particularly admire her ability to empathize with people and inspire joy in small ways,” said Brownlee.
Throughout high school and college, Brownlee continually sought out opportunities to learn more about the industry and refine her knowledge and interests. She did this by working as a sales associate and model at a local boutique most of high school and beginning of college. She also shadowed a seamstress, and a local pattern maker. For school credit, Brownlee completed a CTE Social Media Marketing internship at her girlfriend’s closet boutique. These internships and side projects helped grow and refine her creative eye. She continued to network and make connections with people in her community while studying fashion in college.
Back in high school, Brownlee worked hard enough and managed to complete every semester with an A/B average. Her fair share of math tests definitely challenged her learning capabilities and followed her to college where she had to retake calculus and physics before she finally understood the material. She had never failed so utterly at something before and was extremely frustrated. Brownlee had to be gracious with herself and intentionally take a step back to evaluate how she could reconfigure her self-doubt into tangible next steps on how she could improve.
On the other hand, Brownlee has never had any instances where she doubted her interest or passion for fashion. Although the classes she took at NCSU were a bit intimidating at times, she learned early on that she could be proud of her own work while also applauding her peers for their accomplishments.
“I believe that [fashion] can be what I make of it just like anything else I’ve experienced,” said Brownlee.
She takes comfort in knowing that fashion will always be something that she loves no matter what lies ahead in her career path. She can always dress how she would like to, pursue her own creative projects and inspire change on an individual level. As long as she is able to continue to develop her skills and build upon her strengths, Brownlee will feel accomplished and satisfied with what she is doing.
“Watching Peyton grow and learn sewing skills has been a thrill,” said Jacquelyn Berg, teacher.
Brownlee attended Berg’s Apparel I & II, and Interior Design I & II classes throughout high school. Berg was and continues to be a mentor of Brownlee. She took a personal interest in Brownlee by pushing her to grow as a student and as an individual. Brownlee’s many lunch periods spent in Berg’s classroom working on projects created a relationship that led to her writing excellent recommendation letters which allowed her to go to her dream school NCSU.
“Peyton was a perfectionist… self-motivated and friendly to everyone in the class,” said Berg.
Not only did Brownlee do exceptionally well, but she tutored other students and motivated them to do their best. When presenting projects in Apparel II, Brownlee would make half the class want to improve because she’d set the bar so high.
“I am proud of Peyton, after all, she has been the only student that I have had that created her own prom dress,” said Berg.
With all those CTE classes and amazing recommendation letters, Brownlee graduated from Athens in 2017 in hopes of getting into her dream school NCSU. She applauded herself in 2021 when she graduated with a Bachelors of Science degree in Fashion and Textile Management from the Wilson College of Textiles at NCSU. Being a designer’s assistant and the multiple internships she’s taken over the years will come in handy for the Design and Product Development internship she will be taking for the Augusta National Golf Club when she moves to Georgia. Once she is done with her internship, Brownlee is not yet sure whether she will stay with the company or pursue a job through the connections she hopes to make during her time in Augusta. As of now, her long-term goal is to eventually own her own business either designing apparel or opening a boutique after gaining experience in the industry.
Although Brownlee’s journey may be traditional in the “graduate high school, go to college, and get a job” sense, it’s unique. What makes her journey different from others are all of the experiences that she’s sought out to learn outside of what people may think a traditional journey looks like.
A common misconception that many college students, including Brownlee, have is that at some point after graduation, everything would be figured out. What she’s now realizing is that there is not a particular timeline for how things happen. Sometimes, there’s more joy in the process of getting where you’d like to go instead of “finally” reaching the destination.
“I am very excited about the internship that I’m about to start and feel that I am on the right track to learn and continually prepare myself for what opportunities may lie ahead,” said Brownlee.
