The ability to take your designs and dreams to the runway.

That’s what the Academy’s School of Fashion graduates get to experience each spring and fall season as part of their final thesis projects.

To shine a light on this thrilling but no doubt stressful run up to the catwalk, we created a three-part video series to illustrate the path of a few of our 2017 Fashion Design graduates.

Over two full semesters, 23 students opened up to show us the design process from beginning to end, demonstrating the determination and intricate processes needed to transform their initial inspirations into the fashions of the future.

Get a behind-the scenes look in to the design studios. The sewing machines are whirring and the students are draping their muslin on to the mannequins. This is where it all begins.

Watch Part 1: Inspiration

Different modalities and mediums can spark a design idea for the runway, even if it isn’t directly related to clothing:

Cana Klebanoff, MFA ‘17 shares, “Creativity is not what your search for, it just comes to you when you least expect it; magazines that you flip pages through, or even taking a walk around the city. Maybe it’s two different worlds that collide in a way—and you come up with something even more unique.”

Erika Tompkins, MFA ’17 notes, “Growing up my dad was an architect; I’m always looking at structure and how a building might work or how it was built.”

In light of Fashion Week 2018’s kick off in New York this week, check out how they start creating their spotlight-ready runway designs in Part 1: Inspiration.