Austin is ripe with fresh design talent, and it's a savvy crop.

Encouraged by homegrown national success stories such as the award-winning jewelry design team of Anthony Nak, new clothing and accessory labels are on the fashion-forward track. Today's designers have learned they need more than talent or an appearance on a hit reality show such as 'Project Runway' to succeed in fashion.

New Austin labels such as Herff Christiansen, Julia Plume and Sophie Grace – each has been in the industry for a year or less – are being rolled out slowly as their owners and designers raise money, win clients and build label buzz to fund their lines of dresses, tops, jackets, pants and bags.

"There are young designers who jump in with 20 pieces to go to market," says Randi Christiansen, taking a break weeks ago from designing the label Herff Christiansen's next three seasons.

Going into debt to start a fashion label wasn't an option for Christiansen or her business partner.

"It worries us," Christiansen says. "That's why we started the way we did. This is crunch time. We're working toward going to market this fall, if not, next spring."

Anthony Miller, chairman of fashion and accessory design for the renowned Savannah College of Art and Design, tells newcomers they have to make smart choices when stepping foot into the competitive fashion world.

"You have to have the basic talent," he says. "You have to be business savvy. It's about being responsible and managing a business."

Austin's newest designers are keeping all of this in mind while juggling life's ups and downs including marriage, babies, illness, and graduations. Here are six new fashion faces to watch.

mharper@statesman.com; 445-3974

Julia Plume

www.juliaplume.com

Her story: The New Zealand-born Plume moved to Austin in 2005 with her boyfriend after a stint in California. (Her dad is from Colorado and her mom is from New Zealand.) She skipped pursuing a career in sports psychology to take on fashion. After taking a pattern design class at the Austin School of Fashion Design, she started the Julia Plume line with an initial 12 pieces.

Selections from her fall collection – there are dresses, jackets, pants and knit tunics – are available at Austin boutiques C. Jane and The Garden Room.

The newly married Plume, 24, works out of her South Austin home as she puts the finishing touches on her spring line. Also, she is waiting to find out if she made the cut in the 2007 Search for Texas' Next Top Designer by the Dallas Fashion Incubator; the winner will be announced Nov. 10.

"I just want to get to the point where it's profitable," she says. "The store owners seem to want more Austin people doing this kind of thing. So they are receptive to it." That means finding a sales representative to market her goods and a manufacturing facility in Texas. "I want to be able to do this full time," Plume says. "That's my aim for next year."

To keep her fashion dreams going, Plume works at a Web site design company, helps a friend with a recycling business and teaches at the Austin School of Fashion Design. She designs in her spare time.

What she has learned about the industry: "There's much more to it than you think," Plume says. "There's more to it than sewing and selling a few things. It's much different than 'Project Runway.' "

Her niche: Simple, unexpected but wearable fabrics.

What people are saying: "Her fabrics are gorgeous," says Julie Copp, owner of C. Jane. "This cobalt blue swing dress – it just flew out of here. Her linings are beautiful. Julia is really trendy but classic at the same time, so her pieces will stay in your closet for a while. Her sewing techniques are flawless."

Herff Christiansen by Mary Herff and Randi Christiansen

www.herffchristiansen.com

Their story: Their first season began small, with one basic shirt in three colors and two sizes. Four designs and a leather handbag made the second season of Herff Christiansen, which is in stores now.

"Mary and I met through some business school outings," says Christiansen, 32, who met Herff at the University of Texas in 1998. "It was kind of an instant bond. We come from different cultures with me being European and her being American."

Herff, 37, who recently had a baby, had a marketing background in the film industry prior to her studies at UT. After the MBA program, she and Christiansen, who also completed UT's summer architecture program, spent her time working at Estée Lauder in New York. Herff, who lives in San Antonio, returned to Texas in 2003, while Christiansen came back to the state in 2006. From there, the two began their fashion journey.

"We both have this fever for fashion," Christiansen says. That connection has lasted and sparked a series of ready-to-wear pieces that are modern twists on classic looks. Ultimately, their design goal is to create pieces that aren't obsolete in a few seasons.

"I go through a tough screening by Mrs. Herff," says Christiansen, who's Scandinavian. "There's a tough back and forth between us. Neither of us worked in the fashion houses in New York."

Perhaps that tough love is paying off. The label's selections are sold at By George and at stores in Houston, San Antonio, Dallas, Seattle, California and North Carolina. But the two plan to roll out their label slowly and not get weighed down by expenses. So far, they say, their line has been profitable.

The plan is to build up to 12 to 18 pieces and four to six accessories including leather goods produced in Austin.

"Austin is an incredible place," Christiansen says. "There's an incredible mix of people here. It's a dynamic place. You can walk down South Congress and be inspired. It's a place where people take risks. If we don't succeed, it's a brilliant life experience."

What they have learned: "It's much more demanding and tougher than we thought it would be," Christiansen says. "I think it's critical to learn how to draw. That skill for me was critical. Every season comes too fast."

Their niche: Basics with a high level of style.

What people are saying: "I'm always excited to see a new line coming forward," says Pam Miller Jensen, manager of By George on South Congress Avenue. "When they showed me the line, it was only six pieces, but they were clean and they were fashion-forward. I particularly loved the leather bags that they had. Their design style was crisp, clean and it had an '80s element to the bat-wing top that they have. That was the particular piece that I loved."

Sophie Grace by Shannon Yarbrough

www.mysophiegrace.com

Her story: Yarbrough, 31, was about to take her Sophie Grace line to market this fall. The collection, which played off two distinct looks (naughty and nice), fit the moment: It was eco-friendly, incorporating soy, bamboo and modal in many of its designs.

The selections included custom zipper pulls, printed hoodies, Swarovski pockets and cashmerelike fabrics. She had plans to donate a percentage of sales to such environmentally conscious organizations as American Forests. There was even a photo shoot of her selections at a $14 million mansion in the Westlake area.

But then something changed: Yarbrough's orders for custom dresses and gowns for Austin's ball season picked up, leaving her to focus on gowns and dresses, which she still designs under the name Sophie Grace.

"We are working on custom pieces and then we have custom gowns from this point through February for gala season," says Yarbrough, who moved to Austin six years ago. "Our custom work has doubled from this time last year, so it was not difficult to make the decision to nurture this business. My clients are looking for unique gowns, and buying off the rack is risky."

Though she never studied fashion design (her background is in psychology and a career in sales and marketing), her artistry was developed and encouraged as a childhood pursuit.

"It was one of the things that was instilled in us as children," says Yarbrough, who grew up in Lafayette, La. "I always had something I was doing creatively. At the end of the day, it was great way to apply my business background with my creative talent instead of doing all of this creative work on the side."

Yarbrough still has plans to return to ready-to-wear as soon as she is able to find partners who strive for quality and the details that make her line Sophie Grace.

"People respond to colors, shapes and textures in very different ways," she says. "Fashion is an interpretation of nature and movement and life, and is constantly changed and resurrected by the extraordinary creative talents in the market today. It is very fulfilling to watch your sketch come to life."

Her niche: Designing custom cocktail dresses and ball gowns.

What she has learned: "Finding the right people with whom to trust your designs is not an easy task," she says. "Standing firm on quality means you have fewer options in terms of production."

What people are saying: "She's just so energetic and so excited about what she does," says Venus Strawn, co-chair for the upcoming gala Dancing with the Austin Stars, which will benefit the Center for Child Protection. "She has a passion for design. She tries to come up with something unique. It's like couture but here in Austin, Texas. I've seen some of her designs on other women and she comes up with something unique and it fits perfectly. ... She wants to make a statement."

Chams & Hill by Leyla Chams and Tracy Hill

Their story: For most of their time at the University of Texas, Hill would see the iPod-wearing Chams around campus. They had classes together but didn't befriend each other until their senior year.

"She and I instantly clicked," Hill, 23, says. "We haven't stopped talking for a year and a half now. She always knew me and I always knew her. When we came together our senior year we helped each other in every way."

Hill spent much of her life in Central Texas, while Chams grew up in Colombia. Fresh out of UT, Chams and Hill designed a bridesmaid dress that was sent to a Miami wedding. And then they stepped into a serious design challenge: completing a fashion line for the recent Runway to Heaven fashion show, which raised money for Austin-based Heart House.

"We finally looked at ourselves and said, 'Yeah, we can do this,' " Hill says. "We're going to stay together. I want to do nothing but this. Leyla and I are competitive and we push ourselves."

Their collection of evening wear and dresses garnered buzz at the runway show, but the two have taken on new roles.

Chams, 22, is interning for Ralph Lauren in New York, while Hill has remained in Texas to care for her family and plot their next fashion project. She and Chams, whose father owns fabric stores in Colombia, are working on new designs for an upcoming summer line.

"We honestly design over the phone," Hill says. "We e-mail. We scan in sketches and send them to each other."

Their niche: Designing evening and party dresses.

What they have learned: "Taking it easy isn't an option in this industry," says Hill, who once had plans to study cellular and molecular biology at UT. "It's about who you're designing for and it's more about making your client feel like a million dollars. Living this life is much different than being on a reality show. Designing is a lot of math. It's a lot of business. The creating and designing are the fun part."

What people are saying: "Those two really rose to the challenge with the Runway to Heaven fashion show," Austin designer Linda Asaf says. (Hill interned for Asaf earlier this year.) "They worked hard to get it together and did the work with that kind of determination, passion and energy you need in this industry."

Where are they now?

Over the past decade, Austin was the starting point for several designers. We checked in with a few that we've written about in the past to see what they're doing now.

Susan Dell

The back story: Dell has a degree in fashion merchandising and had designed clothes for friends for more than a decade before formally going into the fashion industry. A few years ago, she closed her luxury clothing boutique in the Davenport Village shopping center.

And now? The original Susan Dell Collection line was shuttered years ago, and now Dell oversees Phi (pronounced "fee"), which is headquartered in New York. The brand, which was the subject of a recent Vogue magazine story, debuted its 2008 spring line weeks ago.

www.phicollection.com

Suzie Rapp and Amy Posavek

The back story: Rapp and Posavek, who graduated from the University of Texas in 2002, worked at Marc Jacobs and Cynthia Rowley, respectively. They started their own line of leather handbags and accessories as well as an online store in the spring of 2004.

And now? "We're taking a little break," says Posavek, 29, who lives in Austin. "I'm about to have a baby any day... We actually closed our business on Sept. 1." (Rapp, 29, is in Philadelphia now, Posavek says.)

What Posavek learned about the industry: "It's very challenging," she says. "I think it depends where you are and who's backing you. We had investors, thank God. There are a lot of different lines that are competing with you."

Cat (Swanson) Gendler

The back story: A few years ago, Gendler, 28, earned retail accounts, magazine coverage, showroom representation in New York and Paris, and an opportunity to train with a furrier in Denmark – all with her Cat Swanson line. Gendler married menswear designer Tomer Gendler.

And now? Living in New York, she is design director at the fashion label Rachel Roy. "After taking on the opportunity at Rachel Roy, I no longer had time to commit to a full collection," she says. "I have designed special pieces on a personal order basis, but Cat Swanson as a collection has been on hold for over a year."

www.rachelroy.com

Tomer Gendler

The back story: Israel-born Gendler, 28, moved to the U.S. as a child. He studied business and fashion at the University of Texas, and later went to Milan to launch his fashion career. He received Fashion Group International's Rising Star Award in Menswear. He is married to the former Cat Swanson and lives in New York.

And now? "We're relaunching for spring 2008," he says of his new Tomer collection. "We got together with a few new partners. We're selling direct to consumers right now."

What he has learned about the industry: "You have to take your time. Slow and steady wins the race. It's a really difficult industry, but like every industry you have to take your time, make the right decision and have the right partners. And definitely not rest on your laurels."

www.tomer-collection.com