At age three, Zoe Beck was convinced she was a five-year-old boy called Daniel. She wore boys' swimming shorts with flames on them and shark goggles all summer.

Now, the 15-year-old's hip-hop, streetwear-inspired fashion collection is hitting the runway at New Zealand Eco Fashion Week in Wellington this weekend.

Some of Zoe's collection. Photo: Roedolf Smit Auckland.

'I'm really excited,” says Zoe. 'I never would've dreamed a year ago that this is where I'd be as a designer in such a short space of time.”

Zoe is the youngest designer to be accepted to show a collection on the catwalk, alongside more than 25 established NZ and international designers.

'I really didn't think I'd be taken seriously at 15 as an emerging designer. To be honest, I didn't think I was going to be accepted.”

Zoe's entire collection is made from used and second-hand clothing, using a range of textures including satin, jersey, vinyl and stretchy fabric – as well as beaded fabric from pre-loved Indian kurtas.

'It sounds really crazy to combine all of these, but it works,” says Zoe.

To her, fashion is art – and art is expression. 'You can express who you are and who you want to be through what you wear.”

However, Zoe knows teenagers can be judgemental of people's fashion choices.

'I want to tell people to just be yourself, don't be false and follow the crowd. Wear what makes you happy and stop worrying about everyone else.”

Zoe always loved dressing up and creating clothes. 'I'd cut up old T-shirts and paint them – add things to my jeans and tie strips of patterned material to my wrists and ankles.”

Fashion seems a fitting career for Zoe. 'It's like playing dress-ups forever,” says Zoe. But she knows it's also a lot of hard work.

'I've had to miss out on so much during the last few months. I've spent every weekend and evening designing, drawing, thinking of ideas and sewing until late at night. It'll all be worth it though.”

So what's next for the young designer? Well, without saying too much, Zoe's been invited to design for a major upcoming NZ fashion event. But her lips are sealed.

Zoe thanks her mum Donna for her constant support. Follow Zoe's journey on her Facebook page Zoe Beck Designer.