Fashionistas were buzzing with questions Friday as New York kicked off its Fashion Week: What will we be wearing? Or perhaps more importantly, who will we be watching?

While everyone knows to love Marc Jacobs and Narciso Rodriguez, it is the emerging, up-and-coming designers who provide the real energy that pushes fashion forward.

So here asap takes a look at five new kids on the fashion block. Three of them can be found at Gen Art's "Fresh Faces of Fashion 2006" show, where editors, stylists, and buyers go to discover the next big thing. The behind-the-fashion-scenes organization handles the casting for Project Runway and has helped launch the careers of Zac Posen, Rebecca Taylor, and Twinkle by Wenlan.

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BRUNO GRIZZO

WEB SITE: http://www.brunogrizzo.com/index.htm

THE LOWDOWN: Bruno Grizzo already has the fashion world buzzing, having won awards for evening wear and ready wear at Gen Art's Styles competition. Although he seems to be a complete unknown, the Brazilian-born New York-based designer has worked with Lanvin in Paris and freelanced for Marc by Marc Jacobs. His apprenticeship with one of the last remaining couture houses in New York, the atelier of Frank Tignino, has influenced his design sensibility and understanding of dress-making.

WHY WE'RE EXCITED: Bruno, besides having one of the coolest names in fashion, just makes dresses. But not just any old kind of dress, dresses for every occasion and every layer -- from coat dresses to lingerie dresses, with unique cuts and flattering draping. To put it simply, his dresses are modern elegance and we'd be more than happy to wear each and every one of them.

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H FREDRIKSSON

WEB SITE: http://hfredriksson.com/

THE LOWDOWN: Helena Fredriksson, the designer behind H Fredriksson, is a self-taught designer who was trained in the fine arts and approaches the body as a sculpture. Her designs have fluidity but consist of raw cuts that play with the form of the body. She also uses clothes as canvas, silk-screening prints derived from her original photography of nature. The clothes are high concept, but very wearable.

WHY WE'RE EXCITED: The Spring 2007 collection is described by the label as having "the look and feel of a glossy oil painting on an antique wall at sunset in a Bergman movie." Art AND arthouse movies? Sign us up.

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SUNSHINE&SHADOW

WEB SITE: http://www.sunshineandshadow.com/

THE LOWDOWN: Designed by Brooklyn-based Lily Raskind, Sunshine&Shadow is a line that can be best described by the dichotomy of its name -- designs that combine athletic wear with ready-to-wear, or menswear with feminine cuts. Inspired by the streets and her Brooklyn surroundings, Raskind's clothes are comfortable for everyday wear but with details that make the wearer stand out on a crowded sidewalk.

WHY WE'RE EXCITED: The inspiration for the Spring 2007 collection are sports team mascots, in particular shark mascots. We know we won't be seeing Sammy the Shark coming down the runway -- though that might be very avant-garde -- so we're looking forward to seeing how Lily will incorporate the menacing nature of the shark into something feminine and wearable.

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KAREN WALKER

WEB SITE: http://www.karenwalker.com/

THE LOWDOWN: Karen Walker is leading the wave of Kiwi and Aussie fashion designers whose clothes are popping up in boutiques in New York. Although not really a new designer -- she's shown in London Fashion Week for the past few years -- Karen Walker is making the move to New York Fashion Week, bringing designs that have been described as effortlessly cool and non-fashion fashion.

WHY WE'RE EXCITED: We like the idea that with Karen Walker's clothes we can look like we've put together an outfit by complete accident and still look cool.

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FELDER FELDER

WEB SITE: http://www.felderfelder.com/

THE LOWDOWN: Two heads are always better than one, and when those heads happen to know what the other is thinking? Well, only good things can happen. In this case, the good thing is Felder Felder, a line designed by twin sisters Daniela and Annette Felder. The clothes are romantic with an edge, made of soft silks and moody colors, giving the wearer an aura of mystery, like a secret kept between two, well, twin sisters.

WHY WE'RE EXCITED: Along with their clothing line, the designers produce a jewelry line consisting of leather pieces that have in the past looked like the sisters took a trip to the equestrian club for inspiration. It's this sense of play that makes us hope that they'll be the wonder twins of fashion.

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Jacky Myint is an interactive designer for asap.

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