Yunah Ko had options. She could have gone the easy route and taken a semester in a fashion merchandising class. Instead, she did the work of a dozen people, putting on her own full-blown fashion show with models, music, invitations and a run of show -- all the behind-the-scenes production work to show off the collection of clothes she spent a bulk of the semester designing and sewing.

"I barely got any sleep," said the Meredith College fashion design and merchandising senior. "I had no weekends. You have to be dedicated to get this done."

More Triangle college students are feeling Ko's same sense of dedication to fashion. These days, fashion shows are ranking with sporting events, music concerts or art exhibits as must-see showcases for creativity, talent and entertainment.

At St. Augustine's College recently, 20 college-age models took to the stage for a fashion show as the college's resurrected modeling troupe, a production entirely financed and organized by students who are simply interested in fashion.

Fashion students at N.C. Central University used their designs to compete for cash prizes in an annual fashion show that's one of the campus' most popular spring events.

N.C. State had its largest turnout for a College of Textiles fashion show where students competed to win $2,700 in scholarship money from the American Apparel and Footwear Association. Jonathan Gatlin, a prolific student designer known for his dramatic styles, took home $600 after winning three categories, including best in show and audience pick.

Gatlin created his name first at the Triangle's biggest campus fashion show of all, the "Art to Wear" show at State, where student designers from the College of Design and College of Textiles team up for an evening show that draws hundreds. The show had its fifth run this year, and student organizers called it the best and biggest yet.

At UNC's Kenan-Flagler business school last month, the Alliance of Minority Business Students put on a charity fashion show with students and faculty modeling styles from around the globe. The show, in its fifth year, sold 307 tickets -- 25 percent more than organizers needed to break even.

Even Broughton High School in Raleigh has an annual fashion show, called "Dessert with the Designers." On May 16, students will wear clothes designed by fellow Broughton fashion students, modeling them as they walk amid tables on the school's front lawn.

"Fashion is kind of 'the thing' right now," said Diane Ellis, a professor of fashion design and merchandising at Meredith. "It's in high demand. There are lots of girls who are applying."

It's a national trend. New York's Parsons The New School for Design, one of the top fashion design schools in the country, has seen a nearly 70 percent increase in students in its fashion program since 2001, making fashion the largest major in the school. Part of the growth, the school says, is due to the popularity of fashion reality TV shows -- such as "Project Runway" and Tyra Banks' "America's Next Top Model" -- that glamorize the fashion industry.

But much of it has to do with fashion's increasing role in popular culture -- on music videos, as part of television shows and among celebrities.

"I, too, am astounded by how much it's grown and how much interest there is," said Vita Plume, an assistant professor of art and design at N.C. State, who helps organize the "Art to Wear" show.

She said students these days have grown up in what's become a more consumer-oriented society, where choosing their own clothes and creating their own style has always been a part of their lives.

"They learn early about putting themselves together," she said. "They see that as a career for themselves."

The result is more students hoping one day to have their own clothing lines. But how many will actually make it to fashion super-stardom like Vera Wang or Michael Kors?

Probably not many. The industry is one of the most competitive and cutthroat around. In the fickle business of fashion, often it takes more than a good education and will to get to the top.

Of course, that's not what 34-year-old Virginia Hampton-Nixon wants to hear.

After raising two kids and a stint as a military police officer in Fort Bragg, she went back to school to chase her childhood dream of becoming a clothing designer.

"It's never too late to go after your dreams or your passion," she said.

The fashion design and merchandising major considered her Meredith fashion show, one of three individual shows held at the school in the past few weeks, a practice run of sorts. After graduating this month, she plans to spend more time and effort launching her clothing line for men, women and children called NV. Her fashion show, which included more than 50 garments -- from a two-piece wedding suit to a cropped hoodie cape -- helped move along the process.

"I'm trying to get my name out there," she said. "I'm not just a student. This is my career."