The tents at Bryant Park will see fashion brands of every caliber during Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week, which begins today. But not all the labels show their collections in the tents — and for a young brand like Generra, putting it all together is a race to the catwalk.

Founded in 1980 and purchased by Public Clothing Company in 2002, Generra is under the guidance of creative director Pina Ferlisi. Today, she will unveil a punk-art-inspired spring 2008 collection at Splashlight Studios on West 35th Street, a raw studio space soaked in natural light. “I always look for places like that,” Ms. Ferlisi, whose designs sell at 600 specialty stores, including Barneys, Bergdorf Goodman, and Intermix, said. “That way, the clothes are the focus, and the experience is more like going to a gallery than to a Broadway show.”

It has been nearly a year since Generra held its first runway show during New York fashion week. The spring 2007 presentation was a major feat — given that Ms. Ferlisi, a former development and design executive at the Gap, had joined Generra only six months prior. Preparations have gone more smoothly this time around, with Ms. Ferlisi’s organized team of designers, stylists, casting directors, and hair and makeup professionals — and their assistants — involved in producing the fashion show. But even two days before the show, there are runway looks to finalize, models and music to choose, and seating arrangements to be made.

For this collection, Ms. Ferlisi relied on a palette of deep coral, cerulean blue, and candied spearmint against shades of gray. Lustrous fabrics in solid, muted colors will mix with bold graffiti- and animal-like prints. In some of the more irreverent patterns and eye-popping accent colors, the references to the rebellious art culture of the early 1980s is evident. Yet the geometric silhouettes and asymmetrical necklines are thoroughly modern. “The collection is not nostalgic or retro in any way,” Ms. Ferlisi said.

A little more than 36 hours before the show, Ms. Ferlisi was in her garment district showroom, watching a model parade down a short, makeshift catwalk wearing pieces from the soon-to-be-unveiled spring collection. The brand’s stylist, Anne Christensen, adjusted the clothing, which was accessorized with chunky black bracelets and necklaces, as hip-hop music played in the background.

With the embellishments accounted for, the raven-hair model named Kinga — “5’9 1/2, 32-24-35” her casting card read — took a few steps, pivoted, and paused long enough for an assistant to take a Polaroid. Pushpins affixed dozens of these snapshots to a bulletin board, which then helped Ms. Ferlisi decide which outfits will be seen by the more than 300 guests — retailers and members of the press, among them — slated to attend the Generra show.

During a run-through of the show, this sequence repeated itself dozens of times Monday night — with the model emerging every few minutes in a different ensemble. It’s easy to imagine that most of these looks would translate seamlessly from the runway to a gallery opening in Chelsea — or from a model’s pencil-thin silhouette to the more curvaceous figures of young women who don’t make a living walking the runway.

Though the casting director, Russell Marsh, will be backstage today during the Generra show, on Monday night, he was sorting through scores of casting cards to determine the lineup of models. To complement the collection’s punk reference, he was looking for models that exude strength and creativity. “I don’t go for that obvious, obvious kind of prettiness — that L.A. look,” Mr. Marsh, who lives in London, and also casts for the Prada shows in Milan, said.

Some 350 female and male models passed through the showroom, hoping for a chance to walk in the Generra show, as music from “DJ Trance” was thumping in the background. When Mr. Marsh is done editing, only 20 women and eight men will remain.

Well into the evening yesterday, Ms. Ferlisi was working with hair stylist Eugene Souleiman and makeup artist Tom Pecheux to determine runway hair and makeup styles, respectively.

As Ms. Ferlisi and her team made their preshow decisions about which looks will best express the brand’s image, a video of the Generra fashion show that featured the fall 2007 collection played on a television monitor nearby. And the images made this designer a bit reflective. “So much time and brainpower goes into creating a collection, and putting on a show, and it’s over in 10 minutes. It’s all very extreme,” Ms. Ferlisi said. “But the best part is seeing it all come together, and watching it again and again — and still liking it.”