At just 7-years-old, Max Alexander is already on his way to becoming a popular fashion designer, his creations taking social media by storm and catching the eyes of some celebrities.
The second grader appears to be fixated on women’s fashion, telling his mom at dinner one night, three years ago, that he needed a mannequin because he was a dressmaker.
His mother, Sherri Madison, got young Max a mannequin, sewing lessons and fabric, and said that he then just started to create from there.
“I think of a picture…in my mind. I just kind of put it on the mannequin. That’s called draping…and then I take it off and I pin it and then I sew it,” the 7-year-old explained.
A colorful first dress designed by Max was the genesis of what his agent now calls “Couture to the Max.”
The second grader is already very popular on TikTok and his mom says that he has a waiting list on Instagram, people commissioning ladies’ apparel at $1,400 a piece.
“Right now, he’s not taking any commissions because he’s working on developing a couple of lines for some upcoming shows,” his mother told KTLA.
One of those shows may include New York Fashion Week in September and a Denver runway show in November.
“The impressive part to me has always been the design, which no one has ever taught him; how to drape, what couture is, what materials to use, how to make pleats. I mean, he just did it himself,” his mom explained.
His parents thought he would grow out of the spools of colorful thread and yards of fabric, but it’s still his passion.
“It’s unusual for a 4-year-old to stick with something and to want to do it every day and every night and not want to go to bed,” Madison said.
Whether or not Max ends up in the fashion industry as an adult is not what matters to his mother.
“I don’t care,” his mom said. “I just want him to be happy in whatever he does, but it seems like it’s sticking.”
As for Max, he said he feels a kinship with Gucci, but that he wouldn’t mind working in a dry cleaners shop when he gets older.