Right now, clothing designer Ross Bennett spends his days stitching custom garments in a Tarrytown studio; last summer, he was stitching away, too. The difference? He was working day and night in Los Angeles alongside 13 other designers as a cast member on NBC’s Fashion Star, a Project Runway-esque reality show set to premiere Tuesday, March 13.

Fashion Star will follow Bennett and a pool of other unknown (or as they might prefer, “under-the-radar”) designers as they trek through challenge after challenge of creating wearable designs and building marketable brands, with the help of mentors Jessica Simpson, Nicole Ritchie, John Varvatos (and a side of Elle Macpherson).

The show's premise is smart and a welcome departure from the redundant "100 dollars and a whacky theme” model that has grown threadbare after so many seasons of Project Runway and other offshoots. On Fashion Star, designers are given a hefty budget and a useful set of guidelines for producing pieces that will walk the runway in front of buyers from H&M, Macy’s or Sak’s Fifth Avenue.

And if a buyer likes what he or she sees, that garment — reproduced on a mass scale — will be available in stores nationwide the day after the episode airs. Fashion Star is more than just 15 minutes of fame; it's an opportunity to make a national impact, and make some “real money” too, that is if designs pique buyer interest in the first place.

“On the show, you’ll see the entire [design] process,” Bennett says. “From conception, to the fabrics being purchased, patterns being made, then on the runway and then in the store.” Outside of sharing this insight into the design process, Bennett believes that Fashion Star will have a large economic impact, too. “It’s a way to boost the economy,” he says. “It’s going to drive people to the malls to look for clothes they saw on last night’s show.”

Given the nature of Fashion Star, viewers should expect to see high quality, well-made designs that can be translated directly into an already-established wardrobe. In particular, Bennett's work will showcase his expert tailoring skills and clear understanding of the female form — quite the feat for someone who will be painted as a down-home Texan that loves to hunt just as much as he loves to smoke cigars while donning a bow tie.

While March 13 marks Bennett’s television debut, he’s not sitting idly by after his experience on the show. The Ross Bennett Collection keeps him tirelessly creating custom pieces, one a day on average, for a select group of clients. His self-proclaimed “dark and dapper” style ranges from a simple t-shirt dress ($295) to cocktail dresses ($500) and evening gowns ($1000), all of which are fit to the individual form and built on the principles of classic design aesthetics from the 1930s – 1940s.

Participating in Fashion Star means Bennett’s original designs could be available nationwide in a mere few days, but he hopes to maintain mystique with his label and draws that inspiration from one art’s most iconic, and elusive, characters. “I’m kind of starting a whole Andy Warhol movement,” he says. “Warhol created a whole thing… it was so neat. Everyone wanted to be around him, because no one knew where he was.”

To that end, two main tenets of The Ross Bennett collection are “keeping it located, but not found” and remaining a firm opponent of “throw-away fashion." Although you may soon see his chic t-shirt dress rounding a corner at Whole Foods, discover his custom dress at a gala, or perhaps stumble across one of his designs at Macy’s or Sak’s, the Ross Bennett Collection will maintain exclusivity. And as a one-man show, that’s the way it has to be: A semi-exclusive offering of finely-tailored clothes, all housed in a converted Tarrytown garage.

You’ll have to watch NBC’s Fashion Star to see how Bennett fares in this on-screen fashion journey. And though it was a grueling experience (Bennett talks of 6 a.m. trips to the studio and little conversation among contestants), he remembers it fondly, and with a comparison to which any good ol’ boy can relate. “You’ve heard boys talk about pledge-ship,” he says with a laugh. “It was like that… without the hazing.”

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Fashion Star premieres on NBC Tuesday, March 13. For more information on the show, visit the website.