Fashion designer hits stride - at 13

[Photo/Agencies]

Taylor says that after taking the sewing classes, she gradually got more serious about fashion, making clothes for friends, designing a collection and eventually getting a handful of items produced and selling them online and at trunk shows. Her line is now produced in Los Angeles.

Taylor went to school on an accelerated schedule, graduating from high school at 11. She now attends community college.

Sherri Taylor says it was apparent early on that her daughter had an aptitude for art. "When she was really young we really noticed how she played with colors and it was just very unusual," she says. "We knew that something was happening so we just kept buying her more colors."

"She's tried a lot of different things and some things stuck and some things didn't, but art and fashion have been consistent," she says, adding that her daughter's fashion career "just kind of snowballed".

Jennifer LaTorre-Daly, a 20-year veteran of the fashion industry, joined Taylor's team last fall as the New York-based strategic planning director, focusing on getting Taylor's clothes in major retail outlets. "It's a great concept: She's designing for her peers," LaTorre-Daly says.

Taylor says that even though her schedule can be hectic, she enjoys it and feels like she has a good balance of school, art, fashion and just hanging out with friends. And she points out that she has friends who are just as busy with interests like acting or dance.

"The way I see it is I get to follow my dream and be a teenager at the same time. I think I'm pretty lucky in that respect," she says.