This weekend’s frigid temperatures were no match for the pursuit of fame. A Saturday morning casting call for the reality-TV show “Project Runway” drew nearly 200 fashion designers to 42nd street.

One hopeful, Kenley Collins, 24, huddled with her three models — all college friends outfitted in Ms. Collins’s designs — to keep warm. Aspiring contestants were required to present three examples of their work, and had the option of bringing a live model on which to display their garments.

Ms. Collins, who designs women’s sportswear for Spex clothing company, described her style as “rockabilly glam.” “I read about the casting call in Women’s Wear Daily,” Ms. Collins, who lives in Williamsburg, said, “and my friends thought I’d be perfect for the show.”

But what is considered “perfect” for the show has changed since it began in 2004. As the show became a hit — last season’s finale drew 5.4 million viewers, the most in Bravo’s history — the quality of talent it attracts has improved. And the show’s host, Parson’s chair of the Department of Fashion Design, Tim Gunn, likes it that way.

“Season one, 85% of the people who turned out were students,” Mr. Gunn, said as he dashed between the casting room and his lunch break on Saturday afternoon. “And now I would say its 5%. Maybe it’s not even that high. People know that, unless they have a maturity, a point of view as a designer, and a level of experience in this industry, they may as well not even try.”

As with any gathering of the fashion obsessed, the tryout line — which extended between Seventh and Eighth avenues — was loaded with people showing off their own personal style. A tall woman in a headband, green silk full-length gown, and scuffed black snow boots stood next to another designer in a puffy purple jacket, hot pink tights, and red cowboy boots. Eunjoo Lee, a 25-year-old designer originally from Korea, shivered in 4-inch, leopard-and-flowerprint heels next to her model, Arabella Beatty, 20, who wrapped a down coat around her madras-print gown.

Mr. Gunn and the other judges — who alternate between cities, but who on this day also included a winner from the show’s second season, Daniel Vosovic — said the increased caliber of talent has allowed the competition to shift from garment construction to artistry.

“That’s what I loved about season three, and that’s certainly my goal in casting season four,” Mr. Gunn said, as his trademark rimless glasses slipped halfway down his nose. “The level of designer was so high that it really became a matter of taste and design. As opposed to, ‘Well this is so poorly made and this is exquisitely made.’ Most was exquisitely made, so it was really about how you respond to this particular design.”

The level of professionalism can come as a surprise to some tryouts. “I auditioned last year, but I had never seen the show and I didn’t think that people would be so prepared,” Anu Susi, a 33-year-old blonde in a black puff-sleeve jacket, said. “I didn’t even know who Tim Gunn was, so I didn’t have that fear. And now it’s like, oh my gosh, Tim Gunn!”

She had in her arms the pieces she hoped would make her a star: a pale pink cropped metal-coatedleather jacket lined in graphicprint silk charmeuse and a gold empire-waist viscose jersey dress. She mulled about in a pre-audition room on the hotel’s second floor as Mr. Vosovic poked his artfully tousled head into the room and yelled some advice: “Wake us up! Be energetic!”

For the many repeat auditioners, the thrill of simply glimpsing the show’s stars has worn thin. “They ask about your point of view, your inspiration” Jonathan Peters, 27, said somewhat despairingly, as he emerged from the casting room.

Saturday was Mr. Peters’s third time auditioning for the show, and he said it would be his last. For most, though, “Project Runway” holds the promise of kick-starting a career in a notoriously ruthless industry. “I’m trying to get into the business,” Avari Thomas, 23, said. Ms. Thomas, who works as a bridal consultant, graduated from Lasell College in Massachusetts with a degree in fashion design and production last year. She arrived at the casting call toting an ostrich-feather dress and silk jacket.

“I like all of the challenges, the competitions that they have, how they’re able to express themselves creatively,” she said. “And I like some of the drama,” Ms. Thomas added with a laugh. “But most of all, I like to see people’s perspectives.”