Bravo’s, hit TV reality show, Project Runway has helped business for Parsons, the New School for Design, by jumping the school, and its director, Tim Gunn, into popular culture status. Hopefuls (or aspiring designers), are applying to the program in impressive numbers. According to a New York Times, article (Project Parsons: Fashion School as Star):

Applications to the fashion program have increased by more than 20 percent since 2004 (to 903 this year), and the number of freshmen who declare fashion as their major at the end of their first year has more than doubled since 2001 (to 187 last year).Because of the increased enrollment in the department -- 489 students in 2005 compared with 291 in 2001 -- fashion is now the largest major at Parsons.

Parsons has definitely reaped the rewards of being the headquarters for the hit reality TV show, making a fashion degree the latest fad for its fans. Historically though, it has also been the rejection of many famous fashion designers today. According to the Times, Donna Karan, Anna Sui and Narciso Rodriguez, who are all heavy-hitters in the fashion industry “are among the most illustrious alumni,” who never graduated from the school. While the Times loves to consider themselves “hip” in their deeming something as a new trend, this is not anything unique to the fashion industry. For example, look at the tech industry, which also has famous billionaire dropouts (Bill Gates, dropped out from Harvard; Steve Jobs dropped out of Portland’s Reed College).

However, the difference in fashion is that a fashion degree is not essential to the making of clothing, a creativity-based profession. An aspiring designer either has the talent or not, and if they cough up $13,400 per term for a degree in fashion, it does not mean they will make it in the cutthroat industry. The glamorization of such a degree may set many young people up for failure, just as the commencement speeches of Gates and Jobs, does for young techies who hope to be the next billionaires. Yeah, it is great to have hope, but this show does not reflect reality.

Like most reality shows, Project Runway is not actually reality. Dresses are not constructed in a day and deemed great works of fashion art; Tim Gunn is not going to mentor students and critique their designs in Construction 101; and Heidi Klum will not say, “You’re either in or you’re out!”

The reality of an aspiring designer is not models and cocktails, it is struggle, having to pay the bills, make rent, and deal with the reality of failure. I have a friend, Nary Manivong, who is a talented designer in New York City. He was once homeless in Ohio, and today, he is pursuing his dream of being a great designer. But after three shows in Olympus Fashion Week, he has yet to be picked up by buyers in New York, and he doesn’t make money; it’s a labor of love, driven by passion. This is not peculiar.

The point is that there is so much more that contributes to the success of a great American designer, and no matter the Pop portrayal, young “fashionistas” need to be conscious of the ways of the industry, and ready to take their craft and art seriously. It is not a fad, but a profession, where parties, models, and beautiful clothing do not become a reality until the hard work, the struggle, and a dose of luck takes place.