Barrington teen shares talents on Project Runway: Junior

It was 4 o'clock on a Wednesday afternoon and Ruby McAloon was making some pants.

The 14-year-old Barrington girl was working through a piece of burgundy corduroy fabric, pinning some pleats and singing softly to the music coming from some nearby speakers.

After an hour of sewing and cutting and stitching, Ruby's new palazzo pants were ready to try on — not entirely finished yet, but pretty close. 

Ruby, a freshman at Barrington High School, has garnered a fair amount of attention over the last two years for her talents in fashion and music. 

She was recently selected as one of 12 contestants for the second season of Project Runway: Junior, a popular reality television show that airs on the Lifetime network. This season's first episode premiers on Thursday, Dec. 22 at 10 p.m. Ruby also recently received rave reviews for her runway show at Boston Fashion Week, and has plans to do three more runway shows in the next few weeks. 

In addition, the local teenager has also created a buzz surrounding her musical talents. Ruby, whose father Patrick McAloon is a professional musician, loves to sing and has performed on stage with Rachel Platten — she sings US Billboard top ten hit "Fight Song" — and Pat Monihan of Train. 

Ruby's mom, Robin, said her oldest daughter has long been interested in fashion and music, but those interests have blossomed over the last two years. One of the biggest challenges right now, said Robin, is trying to maintain a balance for Ruby between fostering her creative talents and maintaining her other "life" as a student at Barrington High School.

"She's ready" to go full-time with music and fashion, said Robin. "She wants to skip high school and college."

Ruby agreed.

"It's really hard to focus on school," she said. 

Robin said Ruby is a good students, and does quite well in math. But while the teenager performs well in class, she shines when it comes to fashion and singing. 

"My favorite part is actually making it," Ruby said while pinning pleats on her burgundy palazzo pants. A song by Sara Bareilles filled the workshop and Ruby sang along. 

"I'm really excited to wear these," she added, holding up the pants-in-progress.

Ruby does not wear many of her creations, which, she said, is typical of fashion designers. Most days she opts for some comfortable leggings, and maybe a sweater and boots. Her sketch pads, however, are filled with less typical items. Drawings tacked to a mood board detail stylish pants and tops, and a shirt featuring long fur-lined sleeves. 

Ruby will eventually turn the drawings into patterns and then use the patterns to create the clothing. She does all the work by hand — there is no seamstress she relies upon, no company employed to turn her ideas into reality. Ruby does it all herself.

That creative flair seems to run in the McAloon family. Ruby's father has a strong following in music and also built Ruby's company's — RubyMacFashion.com — website. Robin works as a makeup artist, and Ruby's little sister, 10-year-old Piper, has shown a knack for baking. 

"She loves making cupcakes," said Robin.

Ruby first showed an interest in fashion when she was just seven years old. Her grandmother bought her a sewing machine — she still has it in her design workshop at her home. She can still remember her first creation.

"I made a hat," she said, during a recent interview. "It was a huge hat. It was crazy."

Other creations followed, and by the time Ruby was 11 she was designing and creating her own pieces. At 12, she enrolled in the Rhode Island School of Design teen fashion design program. It was about that time when Robin, realizing her daughter's talent, submitted an application for Ruby to the television program Project Runway: Threads. 

Robin said the producers were interested in Ruby, but were concerned that she was a bit too young still. A little more than a year later, the same submission reportedly grabbed the interest of the Project Runway: Junior producers. Ruby is one of the youngest contestants on this season's show.

Ruby can't disclose how she fared on the television show, but also seems to recognize that program was just one small part of who she is and what she loves. In fact, she seems far more focused on building her name and her business. 

Robin, meanwhile, said the family is trying to keep up with the quickening pace of Ruby's interests.

"I love it, but it's a wild ride," she said. 

More about Ruby

Fourteen-year-old Ruby McAloon has been quite busy recently, focusing much of her time on fashion and singing. For more on Ruby, check out www.RubyMacFashion.com or follow her on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter @rubymcaloon