Max Azria ought to be one big frazzled nerve right about now.

Staging one show during New York fashion week creates more than enough stress for any designer. But three major runway presentations?

What some might call masochism is, to Azria, simply rising to a challenge. Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week kicks off Thursday, and he is slated to launch an unprecedented three collections on two stages at Bryant Park: BCBGMAXAZRIA at 3 p.m. Friday, Herve Leger by Max Azria at 11 a.m. Sunday and Max Azria at 6 p.m. next Monday.

"Time is always the most challenging factor," he said while putting the finishing touches on the collections last week. "Luckily, I have an incredible team who helps push the vision through."

Although he declined to provide a sneak peek at some of the looks, he described the BCBG line as "cool," Herve Leger as "elegant-sexy" and Max Azria as "quirky."

"Max Azria is inspired by a new twist on classic femininity and an attention to craftsmanship and details," he said. "For Herve Leger by Max Azria, I continue to be inspired by art and the lifestyle of the modern woman. BCBGMAXAZRIA was really inspired by urban culture and our ideas about the future. The three collections are very different, but they complement each other well."

Azria is among more than 100 designers and labels planning to introduce fall-winter '08 styles in Gotham over the next two weeks. Although Bryant Park in Midtown Manhattan will again be the hub of action as the official site of fashion week Friday through Feb. 8, there are scores of off-site shows and parties before, during and after the eight-day IMG fashionpalooza.

Nautica kicks off the Bryant Park shows Friday morning, and Sean John closes them a week later. The former usually shows in its showroom, and Sean John owner P. Diddy hasn't shown at fashion week in several years.

America's fashion royalty will hold court, including Donna Karan, Ralph Lauren, Calvin Klein, Vera Wang and Carolina Herrera, who commemorates her 25th year. A number of younger, edgier labels also are scheduled to show, from Diesel, Brian Reyes and Erin Fetherston to Miss Sixty, Zac Posen and 3.1 Phillip Lim.

Related events include a multi-designer show leading to the finale of reality-TV hit "Project Runway," a reception honoring this year's winners of the Ecco Domani Fashion Foundation competition and a special gathering at the new Gucci flagship store on Fifth Avenue.

Two Pittsburghers will be prominent parts of the mix. Jewelry designer Justin Giunta of Mt. Lebanon is being feted for winning the accessories category of the prestigious Ecco Domani Fashion Foundation Awards, and Indiana native Felice Morganti, a fashion design student at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco, is a featured designer in a show staged by the school.

There's also the annual Red Dress Collection fashion show, The Heart Truth, which is part of a national campaign to raise awareness of heart disease among women. It's Friday and easily the most star-studded show each February, featuring Heidi Klum, Ricki Lake, Cicely Tyson and more than 20 other female celebrities wearing custom red dresses created by Marchesa, Rachel Roy, Daniel Swarovski and other designers.

Although the average runway show lasts about 12 minutes, it is preceded by thousands of hours of planning and preparation.

"It is a love-hate relationship," said Milly designer Michelle Smith. "I hate the long hours and working for a month without a day off, but I love the excitement of seeing the new collection come together, culminating in the fashion show itself."

For fall, Smith found inspiration in her back yard. She described the collection as "chic uptown-girl glamour with the slightest naughty little edge."

"My silhouettes are inspired by the golden age of couture," she said. "I've always loved to get dressed up, and this will definitely be a season to do so. My fall '07 was very 1960s-inspired. This collection is not about a particular decade; it is more of a mood -- the beautiful, sexy way you feel when you get dressed up, go out and have a great time."

When women see her creations of floral chiffons, embroidered lace, beaded silks, French tweeds and chunky Italian wools, she wants them to think "beautiful, smart, sexy and glamorous."

Peter Som said the aim of his fall line is to make women feel pretty and have fun in clothes inspired by color interpretations of American photographer Diane Arbus' "quirky and mysterious" black-and-white images. He's using black, navy and plum mixed with brighter colors such as grass green, raspberry red and various shades of pink.

"This season, I've definitely taken my girl in a more idiosyncratic direction," he said. "I want her to be more quirky but still luxurious and elegant and refined. I'm definitely pushing the envelope in terms of mixing different fabrics together and proportions. There are different sizes of jackets. We're playing with volume. We're also playing with the TV show 'Mad Men.' I love the late '50s and early '60s refinement."

Som also is the new creative director for Bill Blass. For that fall line, he's designed a collection of women's sportswear dipped in jewel tones and reminiscent of Blass designs from the early 1970s.

Less-famous designers are equally hard at work.

"Project Runway" contestants seem to be showing more each season, although usually it's not the season winners who are most visible. Malan Breton has moved from small off-site venues to the tents for his Feb. 6 show, just before Nanette Lepore and Michael Kors.

Zulema Griffin, possibly the only other "Project Runway" alumna to consistently present new fashion week collections, has orchestrated an innovative digital launch. She'll unveil her line at 9 a.m. Sunday on YouTube, Facebook and MySpace (myspace.com/ZulemaGriffin).

Her eight-minute film, "Conceptual Fashion Presentation," will feature sportswear, suitings and cocktail looks in dark jewel tones, metallics, black and white.

Griffin plans to stage a live show Feb. 29 in Stamford, Conn., as part of "Fashion From the Heart," a charity event benefiting heart disease. Rather than deal with the expense and limited in-person audience of a normal fashion week show, she decided that a digital launch would be a fresh and less costly way to reach more people as an emerging designer.

"If you don't have the celebrity pull, it's hard to stage shows now," she said. "It's hard for people like me to get attention. In general, fashion is tough. You're dealing with an industry that is completely incestuous. It's sort of become this cliqueish club that's hard to get in. This sort of presentation I'm doing is giving access to all people. And, ultimately, that's who you'd like to reach. Chanel isn't big because Posh Spice wore a suit. It's many clients buying two or three suits."

Technology, in fact, has made it possible for ordinary folk around the world to feel like they have a front-row seat at the shows. Beyond a flood of print and broadcast reports are Internet sources of fashion news ranging from the popular Style.com to less well-known sites such as theinnercircle-nyc.com.