You will know Indashio!

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Even if you agree with Thomas Edison's adage that genius is 1 percent inspiration and 99 percent perspiration, designer Indashio's self-promotional genius is phenomenal, even at a time when television and the Internet seem to anoint new stars daily.

Indashio: "Viva Las Vegas" Spring 2008 Collection » Fashion show: 9 p.m. Saturday. Red carpet arrivals from 7 p.m.; cocktails and hors d'oeurves from 8 p.m. » Place: Honolulu Design Center Cupola Theatre, 1250 Kapiolani Blvd. » Tickets: $20, $40 VIP » RSVP: publicrelations@indashio.com Video Indashio talks up his show at www.starbulletin.com/blogs/fashiontribe.

In four years the 22-year-old (he turns 23 a few days after his Saturday show at Honolulu Design Center) has gone from gawking outside Miami's Versace mansion, wondering about the lives within, to showcasing his designs within its ornamented walls, now a private club often rented for private events.

His mantra seems to be, dream it, work it and all will come true. Not a single negative thought seems to cross his mind, even though most would have bet against him when he was just a self-professed juvie in Pittsfield, Mass.

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In the old days -- oh, five or six years ago -- the path to becoming a fashion designer was pretty straightforward and time-consuming. Go to a good design school, become an intern/assistant to a major design star, slave away while learning the trade, try a few solo shows and, most important, find someone to finance your dream. All this took was about 15 years of your life, unless you were (A) extraordinarily lucky or (B) born to or married to money.

The impatient can now try out for "Project Runway," where the talented and lucky might find themselves in demand after a few short months.

In between, there is the path carved out by the designer Indashio, who didn't start with much other than a whole lot of energy and chutzpah.

"When I told people I was going to be a famous fashion designer, they just laughed at me," he said. "Even my mom would be like, 'Oh, well, whatever.' Only my sister -- her name is Ciara, but I call her Donatella -- believed in me.

"She was my original muse. I'd dress her in all these crazy clothes, and people would make fun of her because my clothes always have an unfinished look to them. Now everyone wants that deconstructed look. I consider it my signature."

It would help to know that prior to announcing his grandiose plans, he had never sewn a stitch or shown any interest in pursuing a fashion career. His family moved from Massachusetts to Florida after he finished high school, and in Tampa he was bored and looking for something to occupy his time, beyond working at a hotel.

"Tampa is beautiful, but I knew I had to get out of there right away," he said. "My mom had a sewing machine, and I just started sewing. I figured it was like driving; how hard could it be? So I just put pedal to the metal."

Once he'd put a little collection together, the next logical step -- which would have been daunting even to someone who had studied and worked in the industry a few years -- was to take it to Miami Fashion Week. He was 19 and paid for his show with money he'd saved from his hotel job.

"I'd never been to a fashion show, didn't know what it involved. I didn't realize what a big deal it was until I was there and saw all the lights, the red carpet, the celebrities. I was, like, OMIGOD!"

Somehow, the spotlight and attention suited his effervescent TV-ready personality.

His next stop was New York Fashion Week, where he fell in love with the city, especially its culinary wonders. He decided to stay, landing a job with Lucire magazine that gave him access to celebrities and some of the best fashion photographers and makeup artists in town, furthering his behind-the-scenes know-how.

"That gave me so much leverage. I'd tell the stars, 'You need to talk to me. You need to wear my clothes.' I started getting phone calls from the people I'd heard so much about."

Among those he's styled are Nicky Hilton, Lil' Kim, Christina Milian, Vanessa Carlton and Tyra Banks.

He has presented shows during Miami and New York Fashion Weeks since 2005, and is now in Hawaii to present his 2008 spring collection Saturday night at Honolulu Design Center. This, again, started with a grand dream.

"I wanted to do this world tour because I think I'm a rock star, and I thought it would be great to go to Honolulu, Las Vegas, Dubai and Tokyo, all the places I've always wanted to go."

He'll be showing his "Viva, Las Vegas" collection that debuted during New York Fashion Week in September. Inspired by showgirls, it'll be an over-the-top showcase featuring plenty of transparent animal print fabric, gold lam, vivacious reds and one dress embellished with shards of cracked CDs held in place with glittery puffy paint. The clothing is about as shy as the designer.

"I like skin. If there's more skin than fabric, you know it's Indashio," he said while describing his list of wants for the Honolulu show, including wind machines "and hair as big as Diamond Head."

"You know how I got to be on MTV and BET? After my Miami show, I started calling them every day. I'd send them clothes and they'd always send them back, and I'd think, 'Aww, they didn't use my clothes.'

"But one day they didn't send them back, so I called them and said, 'Hey, where's my clothes? Send me back my stuff!' And they said Amerie had one of my dresses and was wearing it, and she's one of my favorite singers!"

That put him on the inside track to appear on MTV's "8th and Ocean" and "Made," in which Indashio was one of several professionals helping to make someone else's -- in his case a plus-size model's -- dream come true.

"I'm so happy to be doing that because I love helping people and making them feel good about themselves. That's what fashion's all about."

In keeping with his tradition of charitable giving, a portion of proceeds from Saturday's event will benefit the Hawaiian Development Community Board and Hawaii Adult Friends for Youth.

Coming up for the designer is a stint on VH1's "Sew Good," which he describes as an "urban Project Runway," during which he and four other designers will live and work out of a New York boutique, selling their creations.

With his knowledge of the business today, Indashio seems amazed by his own journey.

"Four years ago I was outside the Versace mansion taking pictures, not knowing anything about the fashion industry. It's so funny how something just starts out with a dream, and you're suddenly able to live it."