Photos courtesy of ABImages, Alex Berliner and Ben Shmikler

FIDM Fashion Design and Advanced Fashion Design Program Co-Chairs Nick Verreos and David Paul--Hosting the FIDM DEBUT 2024 Runway Show, Cooper Design Space Los Angeles

At the end of March, we had our final FIDM DEBUT Show at the Cooper Design Space in Downtown Los Angeles. The DEBUT SHOW is the final graduation fashion show for our Advanced Fashion Design Program graduates from the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising. As Co-Chairs of the FIDM Fashion Design and Advanced Fashion Design Programs, David and I are not only the Chairpersons of the Programs but in regards to the DEBUT Show, we are also the Creative Directors of the show. 

The FIDM DEBUT Show originated back in 1980, and it features the capsule collections of the program's graduates...it's the college's version of the "Fashion School Graduation Fashion Show".  Typically for many years, the DEBUT Show and Advanced Fashion Design Program only accepted 10-12 students for the 9-month program, where the students get to create their first collection, from ideation to finished garments, spending the time working on their inspiration, doing research, mood boards...to draping, making the patterns, creating muslin samples, having fittings on live models, and ultimately sewing the finished garments to be shown at the DEBUT Show. As a side note: I was one of those Advanced Fashion Design students when I attended FIDM and got to present my first collection at the FIDM DEBUT Show over 30 years ago (!).

View of the audience at this year's FIDM DEBUT Show, Cooper Design Space, Downtown Los Angeles

Model in look from FIDM Advanced Fashion Design Program graduate Ashot "Ash" Markosyan--FIDM DEBUT 2024, Cooper Design Space Los Angeles

For this year's program, we accepted 21 students, as a result of having such outstanding applicants! Also, after FIDM's campus and its fashion program merged with ASU, part of the sale involved a dissolution of our FIDM Fashion Design Programs so therefore, this became our final FIDM DEBUT Show...and we ended it with a STYLISH BANG!

FIDM Fashion Design Co-Chairs Nick Verreos and David Paul--FIDM DEBUT 2024

Here are photos from the FIDM DEBUT 2024 Show featuring the capsule collections from some of our 21 graduates:

Designs from FIDM Advanced Fashion Design Program graduate Ashot "Ash" Markosyan--FIDM DEBUT 2024

This past July, we had the great privilege of continuing the annual tradition at the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising FIDM of producing the FIDM DEBUT Show. This is the annual runway show which showcases the Designs from the Advanced Fashion Design graduates at FIDM. It is like a Graduate Fashion Show showing "The Best of the Best" in the Future of Fashion. As Co-Chairs of the FIDM Fashion Design and Advanced Fashion Design programs, David and I were honored to have been the "Creative Whisperers" of the show and help guide with the vision and look of the production.

FIDM Fashion Design Co-Chairs David Paul and Nick Vereros--Cooper Building Design Space Downtown Los Angeles

The show was directed by Gene Lebrock, Executive Director of FIDM Productions, and produced and choreographed by Susan Koziak and her amazing team at Koziak Productions. After all the editing and intense behind-the-scenes production work were done, the show was then live-streamed on YouTube in August for everyone to see! (Video at the end of this post!)

Behind The Scenes Filming--David Paul and Nick Verereos with Director Gene Lebrock and FIDM Productions, filming introductory footage--Cooper Building Design Space Downtown Los Angeles

Here are photos from the FIDM Advanced Fashion Design Graduate's designs from this year's FIDM DEBUT 2021 Runway Show...Photos courtesy of Alex Berliner/ ABIMAGES

Dustin Argumedo:

Models in designs from FIDM Advanced Fashion Design 2021 Graduate Dustin Argumedo (above)--FIDM DEBUT Show 2021--Cooper Building Design Space Downtown Los Angeles

Models in designs from FIDM Advanced Fashion Design 2021 Graduate Bella Madden (above)--FIDM DEBUT Show 2021--Cooper Building Design Space Downtown Los Angeles

Models in designs from FIDM Advanced Fashion Design 2021 Graduate Zachary Weinrich (above)--FIDM DEBUT Show 2021--Cooper Building Design Space Downtown Los Angeles

Models in designs from FIDM Advanced Fashion Design 2021 Graduate Jesua Rodriguez (above)--FIDM DEBUT Show 2021--Cooper Building Design Space Downtown Los Angeles

Models in designs from FIDM Advanced Fashion Design 2021 Graduate Dmitri Wood (above)--FIDM DEBUT Show 2021--Cooper Building Design Space Downtown Los Angeles

Jiarui "Ruby" Cai:

Models in designs from FIDM Advanced Fashion Design 2021 Graduate Jiarui "Ruby" Cai (above)