DESIGN DEBUT Nick Verreos, Contributing Writer | Thursday, January 21, 2021 Photo Gallery Photos by Whitney Sutherland Producing a full-scale fashion show was not an easy task pre-pandemic, so imagine the challenges now. That is exactly the dilemma I encountered this past year as co-chair of the Fashion Design Department at the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising when we had to make a decision about our famed FIDM Debut show. At FIDM, we have a unique program—the Advanced Study in Fashion Design—where approximately 10 handpicked graduates of the Associate of Arts program spend an additional nine months creating their first capsule collections, from sketch to final garment. The culmination of this premier program is the Debut show, where the students’ final collections are showcased on a grand runway stage.