The student fashion shows at Moore College of Art & Design and Drexel University's College of Media Arts & Design are haute couture events of the first order. Complete with waify models, clamoring pin-wielders and temperamental designers, the annual display of collections from sophomores, juniors and graduating seniors is as harried as any in Manhattan. For seniors, the final show, which at both Drexel and Moore allows students to show off an individual collection, and at Moore also includes an evening gown that follows this year's "Moods of Blue" theme, is crucial, signaling the end of their scholastic tenure, the start of their job-hunting and proof that the last four years were worthwhile. There are still avant-garde designs, but each student has one eye on the commercial marketplace and one eye on their own artistic independence.

One week before their show, the design studio at Moore is spookishly empty. Mannequins missing heads and legs lean in rows. Fluorescent lights glare on empty tables. There's hardly any clothing to be found, save for one red dress splattered with paint. While Alexis Schaffer, 22, fiddles with a swatch of sequined material, Tamara S. Johnson, 22, pages through Women's Wear Daily, circling an ad here and there.

Johnson is doing an urban sportswear collection of pigskin leather, knit and denim with graffiti-like prints. For her blue entry, Johnson's gone sheer with a pouffy, tulip-patterned chiffon skirt with a petticoat underneath and a sheer organza top. It's very flowy. Very sheer. I love nudity, she says.

Schaffer is doing a beachwear collection inspired by Vegas show girls with peacock colorings and the aforementioned sequins. I love creating swimwear, she says of her low-cut V-front, butt-cleavage-revealing one-pieces. It's impossible to find something unique. Her backless blue finale -- inspired by Versace -- is a halter that fades in colors from powder to royal blue, gathers at the waist and is held together by a giant button. Both students see Moore, this year, as sportswear heavy -- good for students gearing up for the commercial fashion biz. We have all designed collections that represent us, says Johnson. But I can easily see [Schaffer's] stuff successful at a Victoria's Secret, or some of the [students'] eveningwear easily fitting in with independent designers. There's nothing that's ¹too' original. Nothing too artsy. We're artistic in [our] choice of fabric, color and sewing technique.

Drexel's design studio is, in total opposition to Moore, a frantic whirlwind, a cramped space where manic designers are wrapping topless models in outfits of a hundred different colors and textures. There are no set rules, says Adrienne Manno, 21. [We have] complete creative control. Manno is working on a collection of multilayered fall sportswear inspired by urban street culture with colors and silhouettes that evoke Eastern European historical costuming. Only slightly less outrageous is the collection of flamenco-inspired swimwear and cover-ups in reds, blacks and blues from designer Stephanie Bruner, 22. I hate zippers, she says of her sexy, entirely spandex outfits. I like things that you can pull and push around, things that cling.

Despite a knowledge of the ass-kissing beginnings of most people who try to make it in the design world, neither Manno nor Bruner see Drexel students as frantic to intern or work entry-level positions. Instead, they're ready to sell through independent routes -- privately in smaller quantities. Anastasia Williams, 21, a Drexel student whose collection is inspired by samurai-warrior dress and Japanese silhouettes, agrees. Using padded, silver, silk charmeuse, red silk piping and teal and black silk brocade, Williams' coats, corsets, skirts and pants are darkly costume-y. She knows these kinds of clothes don't make for an easy ride or make her fodder for top-name assistant designing. I would sell my garments as one-of-a-kind in boutiques if there is a demand for high-end clothing with a theatrical touch, she says.

But until graduation, the harsh reality of the fashion industry can be put aside. As Moore and Drexel present their students' work, the whole gamut of fashion design, from out-there collections like Williams' to consumer-friendly sportswear, gets a chance to hit the runway.

Moore Student Fashion Show, Sun., May 18, 6 p.m., $10-$25, Wyndham Franklin Plaza Hotel, 17th and Race sts., 215-965-8558; Drexel Student Fashion Show, Tue., May 21, 5 p.m., $12.50 and Thu., May 22, 5 p.m., $12.50 and 8 p.m., $25 (includes reception), Mandell Theater, 32nd and Chestnut sts.,215- 895-2390 .