Judges decide who’s in, and who’s out. Given original themes and concepts, talented contestants tackle each assignment in a furious flurry of drawing, cutting and sewing. Designers work tirelessly to carry their creations from paper to reality.

If this scenario sounds familiar, that’s because “Project Runway” has made the process of runway design into a familiar story line. But even the biggest names in fashion had to get their start somewhere, and at the University of Wisconsin that first step comes with the annual juried Textile and Apparel Student Association (TASA) runway show and School of Human Ecology design gallery.

This year’s May 7 show theme, “La Moda Processa,” borrows its title from an Italian phrase, meaning “the process of fashion” – a drastically different concept from last year’s energetic and edgier “Selvedge.” UW senior and president of TASA Ariel Arnson is passionate about the showcase, which she played a large role in organizing.

“For this year’s show we wanted to change the mood and the atmosphere to create a more intimate, softer show,” Arnson said. “We also wanted [it] to really highlight the full spectrum of work made in the textile and apparel design program … from our basic foundation courses and projects, to our advanced, innovative, individual pieces.”

Arnson described the tagline of the show, “foundation to innovation,” as the true embodiment of its Italian title. This European language was chosen for the theme, she explained, because of Italy’s great contributions to the field of fashion and for the romantic inspiration provided by the language itself.

UW junior and textile and apparel design major Emily Gruca put this vision into layman’s terms.

“This year’s theme is the process of what we go through as designers,” Gruca said. “For example, we start off a section of the show with plaid shirts. So, it’s like, ‘We patterned these plaid shirts – it’s way harder than it looks, by the way – and here’s what they look like now.'”

Gruca gives a humbly simple description for a task that seems daunting to the average sewing-inept individual. The show’s evolution from rudimentary to complex seems to be a metaphor for the progression of the college experience, specifically in the design department.

“The theme of the show has no influence on the designers’ pieces,” Arnson said. “The show’s theme is made to accommodate the vast differences of each project the designers make … they are made for class assignments. What you see walking down the runway is our homework!”

These students do the kind of studying that is the stuff of childhood dreams for most undergraduates. But for some designers in the apparel design program, this was not the most obvious career path. UW senior and former show participant Laura Chidester acknowledges she was not the little girl who always held a glamorous life of fashion in her sights.

“I mean, I’m a typical girl,” Chidester said. “In high school, I switched ideas … I got really into art, but I knew my parents would never let it fly if I majored in the fine arts. I realized that fashion was useful … I want to make unknown designers important. I want to be able to dress the average girl.”

Utility, in combination with beauty, is a theme highlighted in all of the runway productions, as well as throughout the design gallery, which showcases pieces created by textile, apparel and interior design students. The event, held at Monona Terrace, features a gallery of “dyed yardages of fabric hanging from the ceiling, miniature room layouts, accessories, illustrations and much more,” according to Arnson, who also has designed 11 pieces for the show.

Widely publicized in the months leading up to their annual showcase, the textile and apparel design department is an otherwise hidden gem on UW’s campus. Newly renovated Sterling Hall houses many of the design studios, out of which numerous beautiful, Iman-worthy garments emerge every year.

“People ask about my major,” Chidester said, “Very few even know it exists! We’re just a little program, but I love it. It’s exciting to be a part of, and it’s made great progress.”

“La Moda Processa” will be Saturday, May 7 at Monona Terrace. Show times are 2 p.m. and 7 p.m.Tickets are $10 for students and $15 general admission and can be purchased at Sterling Hall room B312 Mondays and Wednesdays from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.