As a little boy, Ali Rahimi would travel around Paris and London with his mother while she shopped for couture. After being exposed to couture fashion at such a young age, Rahimi knew he wanted to pursue a career in fashion.

Rahimi, creative designer behind Mon Atelier, is the guest designer at this year’s ISU Fashion Show. He spoke to students on Wednesday at 127 Curtiss Hall about his experiences in the industry.

“I started the business because I wanted to do something different,” Rahimi said. After finishing boarding school in London at the age of 17, Rahimi came to America to pursue a career in fashion.

Shortly after arriving in the United States, Rahimi was told by a teacher that one must learn all aspects of creating a garment to be a successful designer. At 17, this was a hard lesson for Rahimi, but he took the advice seriously and began to learn the ins and outs of sewing.

“I have no respect for anyone who wants to be a designer who doesn’t know every step that goes into it,” Rahimi said his teacher told him. He described that this teacher is still his biggest inspiration to this day.

Lily Gasway, senior in biology, attended the lecture. Gasway said she was inspired by the journey Rahimi went through to become a designer.

“It was really interesting to hear about his journey from only sketching and designing to sitting at a sewing machine for the first time,” Gasway said.

Since then, Rahimi has made it his mission to master couture clothing, as he said, “couture has lost its meaning.”

At Mon Atelier, the designers follow the same couture guidelines as couture houses in Paris. These strict guidelines make Mon Atelier garments true couture. Rahimi said some of these guidelines include that at least 25 percent of the garment is hand sewn.

Throughout the lecture, Rahimi told stories of gowns and pieces he created. Students said they felt inspired by how much work goes into these gowns.

“We’ve never had someone of his caliber for the show,” said Lauryn Stromberg, The Fashion Show assistant producer and senior in apparel, merchandising and design.

Stromberg described Mon Atelier as an internationally acclaimed couture designer. Rahimi has designed gowns for countless designers and for both TV shows and movies. Some of his most notable garments premiered in “Glee” and “Legally Blonde.”

Gasway said she liked learning about the couture garments, as well as what Rahimi has done for pop culture.

“I love learning about fashion as art and all of the detail that goes into couture clothing,” Gasway said.

In addition to having a passion about couture and garments in general, Rahimi is dedicated to teaching and educating students about the fashion industry.

“When picking the guest designer, we wanted to come up with someone who wants to be actively involved in student learning,” said Delaney Eilts, assistant producer and senior in apparel, merchandising and design

While at Iowa State, Rahimi said he wants to talk to as many students as possible.

“[Rahimi and his partner] care just as much about our experience as their experience,” Eilts said.

Rahimi will also be speaking at the Industry Circle event at 1 p.m. Saturday in LeBaron Hall.