Months of planning, sketching, sewing, adjustments and stress – and it all boils down to what the judges think.

The preliminary judging for the 26th annual ISU Fashion Show takes place Saturday and will determine which designers will advance and showcase their garments in the highly anticipated show on April 25.

Ashley Jorgensen, senior in apparel merchandising, design and production, is one of the anxious designers taking a shot at the opportunity to showcase her hard work.

“I’m a little worried – I have never entered my garments into anything before,” Jorgensen said. “But I hope it works out for me.”

Seniors in fashion merchandising are required to take a textiles and clothing course in which they compose a designer line consisting of three or four garments. They spend months assembling their lines, and Jorgensen saw the fashion show as an opportunity to get people to recognize her talent.

“Because I worked on this, I wanted to take my chance and get [my designs] out there,” Jorgensen said. “The process of designing, drawing and constructing helps with knowing how it all comes together. It helps with the future, just knowing the whole process and knowing how much work it is.”

Jorgensen hopes many students attend to help support the designers.

“I think that a lot of girls and guys have put in a lot of time, and it would be cool for students to see what others are coming up with,” she said. “I’m just excited to have people see my designs, especially if they like it – it will be something I’m proud of.”

Jennifer Starr, senior in apparel merchandising, design and production and public relations co-director for the show, said the committee scopes out fashion industry professionals to serve as judges for the event.

“They all come with their own experience, and each year is different,” Starr said. “This year, we tried really hard to get designers that would focus on every [aspect of design], not just one.”

In an e-mail, Anna Broer, senior in apparel merchandising, design and production and design co-director for the show, said the fashion show committee members research professional designers from a variety of areas of the fashion industry to ensure an equal balance in judging.

“We have someone with an education profession, someone who is a tech designer, someone who is a creative designer and someone who works with the merchandising-production side of things,” she said. “This balance is really important. These judges ultimately decided the whole feel of our show and what makes it in, what does not and which garments or collections win awards.

Broer said the judges consider originality and creativity, appropriateness of the designs to each category, materials selected for the designs, neatness of the entry and other technical design elements.

Starr said the judging process is an important part of the event because it is an opportunity for the designers to receive a professional critique that provides a taste of the fashion world.

“Judging makes it go to that professional level,” Starr said. “Not just anyone can throw in a piece that is high-quality work – it takes time and effort.”

The 26th annual ISU Fashion Show

When: April 25 (exhibition viewing at 5:30 p.m. followed by runway show at 6:30 p.m.)

Where: Stephens Auditorium

Cost: $15 students, $20 public, group rates available

Tickets are available at ticketmaster.com or at Stephens Auditorium

Who are the judges?

Lisa Ann Dodge, ISU alumna and vice president of merchandising at Topson Downs in Los Angeles.

Erin Wignall, ISU alumna and head women’s designer for Obey Clothing in Santa Ana, Calif.

Lisa Rothgeb, ISU alumna and Target technical designer in Minneapolis, Minn.

Barbara Trout, associate professor of textiles, clothing and design at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

Anna Broer, senior in apparel merchandising, design and production design co-director for the ISU Fashion Show, said the show has 168 entries, including mounted projects, accessories and garments for the runway portion.

About 33 of the 168 are collections of anywhere from two to five garments. In the judging competition on Saturday, around 15 to 20 percent of the entries will be cut.

Guest designer

Every year, the committee members invite one guest designer from the professional industry to attend and showcase their designs in the show. This year they have chosen Todd Snyder, vice president of menswear for J.Crew. Snyder is an ISU alumnus of the textiles and clothing department.