Few art students can escape the dreaded question, “;What are you going to do with an art degree?”;

Ivy Higa never gave it a second thought. She explored the world of ceramics at the University of Hawaii at Manoa just because it was something she wanted to do. But, upon graduating with her art degree, she promptly turned her attention toward making a living. To her surprise, that didn't include clay.

Instead, Higa found herself in the men's department at Neiman Marcus where proximity to fine clothing reawakened designer fantasies dormant since her teens.

“;I'd been sewing and designing since I was 13. It was just something I did as a hobby, but after three years of working at Neiman, I thought, 'I could do this.'

“;I loved everything about fashion there, the construction, the quality, but I had some of my own ideas,”; she said by phone from Manhattan, where she is putting the finishing touches on her Fall/Winter 2010 collection, set to debut Feb. 13 during New York Fashion Week, in an informal presentation at the New Art Center.

“;During fashion week, there are about 13 shows a day, so this way people can come in, have a cocktail and leave in 5 minutes if they want to,”; she said.

Not that they'd want to. Designing now for her own label, Ivy h., Higa's designs reflect a well-constructed, effortless and modern chic that anyone versed in fashion will find worth studying in detail. Since her first presentation last September, she's held audiences with editors from Vogue, InStyle, Elle and other publications; she's produced looks for Eva Longoria-Parker and Oprah Winfrey; and a day after our phone interview last week, she was scheduled to meet with Vogue's market editor for Fall/Winter 2010 editorial consideration.

Not bad for her first year-and-a-half solo effort.

Higa arrived in New York out of a desire to enroll at Parsons The New School for Design, perhaps best known these days as home base for the TV fashion design competition, “;Project Runway.”;

She was actually in the running to be one of the contestants on the series, but didn't make the last cut before the series hit the air in what she believes is the season that launched Christian Siriano's career.

“;I just looked at what happened as a sign that it wasn't meant to be, but I kept going. It helped fuel my passion even more,”; she said.

Her studies at Parsons led to work in the design department at Donna Karan, before moving on to Lafeyette 148. She also was designing clothing for herself and friends, and her designs became so popular that in fall 2008 she decided to go public with her own brand. Never mind that her timing happened to coincide with one of the biggest economic busts in decades, one that hit the fashion industry particularly hard because of the discretionary nature of such purchases.

Higa staged her first New York Fashion Week presentation last fall, with her Spring/Summer 2010 collection hitting boutiques on both coasts and the South now, just as she's about to present her Fall/Winter 2010 collection.

Just as with her pursuit of an art degree, fashion is just something she needs to do, and she can't be deterred, no matter how rough the road.

“;Nobody in fashion likes to be in the real world, although I think I'm very realistic in that my eyes were wide open going into this. I know what's out there.

“;This industry has a reputation for being cold and ruthless, but I've been lucky in being able to work with great, positive people. I know it sounds so cliche, but you have to surround yourself with positive people, because it's easy to get depressed.”;

She said a trip to a trade show in L.A. and seeing empty storefronts made her aware of just how many boutiques have closed since consumers started trimming expenses.

“;It's hard, too, because stores are reluctant to take on new designers,”; she said. There's not only a question of whether an unproved designer's work will sell, but she said, “;it's also easy to make one or two samples, and not be able to meet demand.

“;Realistically, it takes a lot of work. I work 18 hours a day. There's no time for anything else so you have to love it to the point where you can't live without it. This is my boyfriend,”; she says with a laugh. “;My clothes keep me warm at night.

“;You can't stop believing because once you stop, there's no point in doing this.”;