An off-campus location and new guidelines set the stage for the Student Fashion Association's (SFA) annual spring fashion show, titled "Metamorphosis," which will be held at the Terra Galleria in downtown San Francisco.

SFA officials have given all participating designers a new set of stricter, more specific details and dates to follow.

"This process will weed out people who aren't passionate or serious about participating, and will allow more creativity and quality to come through," said designer Mary Tryong.

Julia Meeks, SFA public relations officer, explained how these guidelines are only here to help designers.

"This show will give SFA a chance to show the world what we do here at SF State and why we are so proud of it," said Meeks.

One of the rules is that all collections must have at least nine separate garments to show on the runway.

Anybody participating in the show must also attend three meetings. The first took place on Feb. 5, when the designers presented individual concepts and mood boards (a poster design composed of images and samples), which included individual photos, fabric swatches, inspirational images and rough sketches to SFA officials.

On Feb. 26 designers must present their final concept, which includes sketches, mood board, and fabric swatches, to a panel of industry professionals. The panel will include a buyer, a merchandiser and a designer.

"Participating in the show should be a requirement for seniors, but it's not," said SFA designer Grace Kibread.

The panel will be available during the second meeting to work with designers to conceptualize their work. SFA will take the feedback from this panel and also from the third panel to decide who will participate in the show.

The third and final mandatory meeting will take place on Mar. 19. Designers must present unfinished garments to the second panel, a retailer, a stylist, and a tailor.

All finished garments are due on April 9. Any unfinished garments will not be presented on the runway.

Designers participating in the show have similar thoughts on the new guidelines.

"I understand where [SFA] is coming from," said Kibread. "We have to be more focused. You can be the most talented person in the world, but you can't be successful without commitment. This cannot be done overnight; this is part of our training."

"It's not going to be easy, but neither is the industry," Tryong added.

Meeks explained that changes to this year's fashion show were also designed to keep the show at par with the Bay Area's fashion industry.

"The [fashion] industry in the Bay Area is building up in a different way," said Meeks. "We are doing something separate than the [fashion] scene in Los Angeles, or New York, with things like local production and sustainability. If we make it known that these are the things we stand for, we will get positive attention."