Students wear their homework at fashion design academy

In fashion, to quote the pop-culture phrase: You're either in, or you're out.

But before that, you must study and learn.

At no time has that been more evident in Sacramento than now, when the fashion scene is practically bursting at the seams with emerging – and experienced – designers.

Consider:

• In just the past few years, there has been an increase in professional-caliber fashion shows, from just a handful all year to two or three per season.

• Local boutiques – seemingly popping up everywhere themselves – often carry pieces by said designers. (At midtowngrid.com, a map lists more than 12 fashion boutiques in that area alone.)

• School rosters are bulging with design students eager to chase their dreams.

Of course, up until a few months ago, it's been primarily community colleges – which continue to play a major role in developing local talent – that have offered design curriculum.

But in May, a new design school opened in Sacramento, signaling what many in the local fashion community say is a notable and welcome change.

The International Academy of Design & Technology on Del Paso Road offers a bachelor of fine arts degree in fashion design and marketing. There also are programs for interior design and visual communications.

The closest comparable schools are the Academy of Art University and the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising, both in San Francisco.

At the Del Paso Road school, more than 290 students are honing their creative skills, although they are also required to take such general courses as macroeconomics, biology, expository writing and verbal communication.

"They're artists, but we cater to the whole student because they need the skills to both design and market themselves (to retailers)," says Melody Rider, the school's president. "They might even go into business for themselves."

A recent visit found students learning to "drive" industrial sewing machines, huddling over sketch pads, and sharing quick snacks – and notes – between classes.

Rider serves as both tour guide and the students' biggest cheerleader.

"Our motto? 'Do what you have to do to do what you want to do,' " she says.

The fledgling designers are taught by industry professionals, either those who teach full time or combine teaching with their work.

In instructor Laura D-Andrea's fashion-sketching class, students are interpreting designs from the pages of fashion magazines while working with "croquis" – movable wooden fashion forms that mimic the human anatomy.

"I also encourage the students to pick movies and tell me what inspired them fashion-wise," says D-Andrea, who was a patternmaker for Lucky Brand jeans for 10 years.

"They also create 'mood boards' to get a feel for sketching designs."

At one table, four students are busy with their drawings, going back and forth from Vogue and Elle magazine spreads to their own sketches.

Linda Leavitt, 22, who has been sketching since attending Tokay High School in Lodi, says she's into gothic-fashion design.

"My goal is to one day own my own boutique here in Sacramento," she says.

Next door, in the clothing- construction class, the whirr of Juki industrial sewing machines is punctuated with murmurs of "I can't thread this bobbin!"

Instructor Jill Oyoung is patient.

"Most kids haven't touched a machine like this," she says. "It's so much faster than a home machine."

The students help each other as Oyoung makes her way around the room.

Reynaldo Garcia, 22, gingerly inches his swatch of fabric as the Juki needle moves at blinding speed. Garcia came to Sacramento from Oregon. He's also a hairstylist who wants to branch into fashion design.

"It's different," he says. "I've never done anything like this before."

Oyoung says her students are learning such basic skills as sewing from a pattern.

"They can't advance to pattern drafting without this class," she adds.

And talk about practical experience: Nine students will participate in the school's fashion show at the Crest Theatre on March 28.

One of them is 30-year-old Jeremiah Hill, who will debut his first collection, "Asian Knight."

"My mom sewed, and I've always done something with clothes ever since I could remember," Hill says. "I began making shirts and selling them on the street."

Good initiative, perhaps. But learning how to market oneself is key to competing effectively, says Mary Kawano, owner of two midtown boutiques – Krazy Mary's and Sugar Shack.

"It's important for young designers to learn to be professional and (learn) how to meet people," Kawano says. "They need to be able to tell me how much they spent making the garment (or accessory) and how much it's worth.

"They have the talent. They just need the marketing know-how."

Kawano, who opened her first store in 2000, agrees that becoming a fashion designer is the new "it" thing.

"We planted the seed," says Kawano, who carries a variety of lines by local designers.

"There's this sleeping giant of local fashion talent."

And while student Aaron Capen, 20, of Rocklin also believes the local fashion landscape is evolving rapidly, he's approaching it with a slightly different goal: He wants to become a fashion stylist, working on photo shoots and with a private clientele.

"I'd love to show people better ways to dress," Capen says. "You can be stylish and confident without buying high-end looks.

"To me, Sacramento is the state capital. It should be a major player in fashion."

About the writer:

• Call Bee fashion writer Leigh Grogan, (916) 321-1129. For more on local fashion, read her blog posts at 21Q (www.sacbee.com/21q).