Jessie Della Femina Interview

Wouldn't it be cool if, as a teenager, instead of worrying about keeping up with fashion trends you were creating them? Well, that's exactly what Jessie Della Femina is doing. Not only is she designing her own, cool and popular clothes - she's helping out charity in the process.

How It Began
It started a couple years ago when Jessie made a funky top out of a hankerchief for her sister. Now this teen has her own line of clothing - everything from tops to pants - and they are selling quicker than Avril Lavigne concert tickets. Jessie thinks up all the designs herself but has help with sewing. She works from her parents basement.

The Clothes
What are you likely to find in a Della Femina design? Well, Jessie is big on color - bright ones, too, like orange and purple. She also likes details, simple beading or glittery touches which add an exotic flare. Henri Bendel, one of the biggest and classiest department stores in New York City sells Della Femina and it's been a huge success. Jessie is still shy about her talent and success, and on a trip to the department store with the CBS Early Show she didn't want to talk to the sales clerk. "When I came here I was too embarassed to ask where it (her clothing line) was. You know, ask for my name," Jessie laughs. "So I have been looking around for the last 20 minutes."

Jessie says she was lucky because she had some fashion industry contacts through her parents - an advertising executive and a journalist. But she says it's been a bit tough because she's only a teen and some people laugh at that. "I wish I was older," Jessie says.

Eventually Jessie is going to go to college but for now she's a full-time fashion diva. What's a girl to do with all that cash from top-selling designs? One of Jessie's good friends has diabetes so Jessie donates a big chunk of her hard-earned cash to the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation.

For more on Juvenile Diabetes, click here.

Do you know someone who's doing something really cool? Tell us!

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