Teen battling brain, spinal cancer hoping to design looks for a Montreal runway

A 16-year-old named Gabrielle Belanger is living out her dream of studying fashion at the same time as she fights brain and spinal cancer.

The LaSalle College student has big plans to make it in the fashion world.

"I love the creativity of it," she said. "I love that you can take anything and just make an outfit."

She has been battling brain and spinal cancer for years, but it's through that fight that she discovered her love for fashion, as she designed outfits to pass the time in the hospital.

"I started to sketch outfits and think of ideas out of stuff that I could find in my room," she said. "I saw something and was like, 'Oh! This could maybe look this in a design.'"

Belanger was given an exclusive tour of LaSalle College and the opportunity to take a class even though she's not graduating from high school this year.

Her teacher Sophie Giroux saw a perfect opportunity for her.

"I said, 'Wow since she's super motivated to graduate high school, then why not go to the open house?'" she said. "I just think that this is something that I could continue telling my students for years about. I could tell them about Gabby."

For Belanger, she hopes that her outfits will one day be part of Montreal's fashion scene.