So Cheesy, Yet So Brilliant: Fashionista University

Fashion designer Kathlin Argiro, publicist Gwen Wunderlich-Smith and designer Courtney Zellmer have dreamed up a brilliant moneymaker that harks back to those John Casablancas modeling courses that were so popular when I was in middle school. At Fashionista University, teens who have watched way too many episodes of Project Runway and The City get a chance to take a course in fashion design or public relations and meet industry professionals ranging from designers to journalists to stylists.

While the program’s Web site design is more Bratz than Teen Vogue, the concept is actually pretty smart. Classes, which are $600 per person, take place at a working design studio in Manhattan’s Garment District. Students also get a chance to attend a show at New York Fashion Week.

And unlike Teen Vogue’s Fashion University, registration is first come, first served. However, each class is limited to just 25 people, so if you have a little sister or brother who you’d like to enroll, visit Fashionistauniversity.com asap. Classes start January 16.