It has been said that when life gives you lemons, make lemonade.  So that’s just what Worcester native Kayleigh Lucci did. Now, the 26-year-old is an up-and-coming fashion designer and stylist.

Everyone has a passion. But what if your passion and your livelihood were suddenly taken away from you in a moment?

Lucci’s world completely revolved around dance until she suffered an injury to her foot last fall that left her unable to walk for three months. While on bed rest, she realized that feeling sorry for herself wasn’t going to cut it. She needed to find something to keep her busy, and she needed to earn a living.

Always turning the negative into a positive, she said, “You don’t have a lot of chances to not do anything for three months.” With an interest in fashion that originated in her younger modeling days, Lucci decided to discover her inner entrepreneur and start her own business. Officially launched in February, her venture ~ The Magnetic Bowtie ~ has been slowly growing by word of mouth among the people of Worcester.

This line of fun, hassle-free bow ties with magnetic backings is handmade by Lucci herself and inspired by her love for quirky and different accessories. She’s a firm believer that “Fashion should be fun; it shouldn’t be too serious.” Always connecting her work back to her personal experiences and relationships, Lucci shared how the look and name behind each individual bow tie are drawn from things in her life, such as inside jokes with friends and her love of animals. Bows named “The Fletcher Effect” and “The Dapper Dalmatian” are just two such examples.

In addition to creating her own designs, Lucci works as the wardrobe stylist for Static Noyze, the theatrical hip-hop company based in Boston with which she previously danced.

“The fact that I still get to be a part of a wonderful thing really makes me happy,” she said. For Lucci, reinventing herself in the industry has been very cool, as she now experiences a different aspect of dance off-stage.

“I’ve always loved being creative; now I’m showing my creativity in a different way.” What used to center on the physical, now centers on the visual, as she displays her creativity through design instead of dance. A testament to her already-budding success, she won an award for her costume design at the international World of Dance Tour held last November, in which thousands of dancers from the East Coast and Canada competed in the Boston region.

Lucci has also styled a series of photo shoots for local businesses, and her designs have recently been featured on TedXTalk and in Baystateparent Magazine.

Not wanting to label her own style in any one particular genre, Lucci finds herself drawn to fun, different pieces, particularly from thrift stores and other places that are affordable for a recent college graduate on a budget. She draws her inspiration from her past and her present and just about anything that catches her eye (or ear), including music, paintings and cartoons.

Worcester offers its own source of inspiration. Lucci said Boston’s style is much more professional-looking, while Worcester’s style is more casual and relaxed. She seeks to blend those two styles together with her own designs.

Looking ahead, Lucci’s main goal is to open her own boutique here in Worcester. She hopes to expand her audience and sell her products to all of Massachusetts and eventually all of the United States. The bowties themselves will change as she does, to reflect different trends and different seasons. This spring, she plans to use lighter materials and brighter colors in her designs.

In the future she would like to use her own designs in her photo shoots. Right now, her styles focus on kids, but she sees her business already evolving to incorporate adult looks, too.

Lucci’s energetic attitude shines through her style. “Just have fun with what you wear. Don’t worry what other people think of you; just be yourself.”

To learn more about Kayleigh Lucci and her designs, visit www.kayleighluccistylist.com.

By Erin Cornell