The University Fashion Show, Contour, is something of a rite of passage for budding designers. As 23 seniors send their individual collections down a runway inside the Frank Erwin Center Thursday night, an emotional sense of accomplishment is bound to prevail.

In recent years, popular media has put the fashion industry beneath a reality television microscope, showing the ins and outs of the business, from sewing rooms (à laProject Runway) to buying wars (à la Fashion Star).

UT Apparel Design seniors, too, are challenged to concept, produce and style an entire collection, from start to finish, during their last year as students in the program. This year, the group will send over 120 original looks down the runway before an audience of thousands (last year attracted over 5,000 attendees). For profiles on each of the student designers, check out this post on Fashionably Austin.

A panel of judges will subsequently critique and hand out prizes for Best Fashion Collection, Most Innovative Fashion Collection, Most Marketable Fashion Collection, Best Constructed Fashion Collection and Best Evening/Bridal Gown.

The event Thursday night just might reveal a brilliant fashion ingenue in our midst and make several students' lifelong dreams a reality. Graduates from the Apparel Design Program often go on to internship placements then design and product development careers in prominent fashion companies like Diane Von Furstenberg, Rodarte and Marc Jacobs.

CultureMap will livestream the entire event on our homepage, beginning at 8 p.m. CT, courtesy of Fashionably Austin.

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The University Fashion Show will take place at the Frank Erwin Center from 6:30 pm to 10 p.m. The event is free and open to the public.