Tori Jones, senior in biomedical sciences, said she has had an eye for fashion since she was five years old.
Jones transformed her love of clothes into her own fashion line, Yen Gang.
Yen Gang came from Jones' love of customizing clothes and shoes.
Jones said she got started by transforming her own clothes into unusual statement pieces.
"If I saw something I liked that I couldn't afford, I would try to make it myself," Jones said. "One time I decided I wanted to make a pair of my shoes pink, so I did."
Friends and classmates took notice of Jones's style so she started selling her clothing online.
Jones sells one-of-a-kind clothing, shoes and accessories on her site.
"The style is so unique and fun that's it's easy to say everything she makes is my favorite," said Lauren Whatley, sophomore in hotel restaurant management. "But my favorite piece is the down to business dress, which is a chartreuse skater style dress."
Jones said her favorite items to design are shoes.
"The thing that makes Tori unique is her custom shoes she creates," said Chelsea Phillips, model for Yen Gang and senior public relations. "It definitely sets her apart from other small business owners."
Native to New Orleans, Jones describes her style as eclectic and edgy, reflecting the culture of her hometown.
"New Orleans culture is super fun and unapologetically unique," Jones said. "I would say my style is the same way. I'm not afraid to do things different."
Jones said she gets inspiration for her eccentric fashion line from Tumblr and Instagram, as well as from famous clothing designers.
"I love Marc Jacobs," Jones said. "I'm also a big fan of Betsey Johnson. She's out of the box, and that's where I want to go with my stuff."
Jones said she also gets spontaneous inspiration while in class or studying for a test, and admits that her notes are usually filled will sketches of designs.
"I'll be studying and an idea will pop in my head, so I immediately write it down or draw a picture of it," Jones said.
Jones said the name of her clothing line comes from her love of the Japanese yen symbol.
"You can have dollars but once you have international money, you've made it," Jones said.
She also chose the word gang because she wants her clothes to bring people together in a positive way.
Jones said she plans to move to Los Angeles after she graduates to pursue her love of fashion.
She said her dream is to go attend fashion school, but her main priority is going putting all of her efforts into expanding her brand.
"I'm giving it 80 percent of my energy right now and I want to see where it can go if I gave it all 100," Jones said.
Jones's designs can be found here.
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