"I love clothes— that's the bottom line, " declared Tawfik Mounayer while fussing around a model done up in his long purple chiffon dress. Last week, Tawfik staged his first-ever runway shows, thanks to the blood, sweat and tears of family and friends. "This show," he says, "was built on favor upon favor."

It was also built on beautiful clothes, a fresh, graceful display that crossed an appealing sportswear attitude with a healthy dose of youthful Saint Laurent reverence. Not bad for a young man—he's 25—who only graduated from the Parsons School of Design last year. But then, this is a guy who has faced tougher challenges: He notes in passing that surgery for a benign brain tumor kept him school an extra year. When a visitor comments on his blasé tone, he says, "It's all gone now."

At Parsons, Mounayer had internships at Isaac Mizrahi and Chanel, and after graduation went to work as an assistant designer at Ann Taylor, where he learned the nuts and bolts of the fashion business: sourcing, production, how to cut fabric and how to make a "two-cent button look like a million bucks." Although his experience there was invaluable, he was frustrated creatively and started designing on his own at home in the evenings. Before he knew it, he had quite a few pieces, and friends urged him to do a show. Seven months later, models marched down the runway wearing his spring 2001 collection, which the designer aptly called "Audition."

Of course, it remains to be seen whether he gets the part. Right now, Mounayer says he would love to do something small—very small, which he would produce himself—for an adventurous retailer willing to pay up front. Prices would wholesale from about $150 to $1,000.

In addition to Saint Laurent, Mounayer cites Claire McCardell, all American sportswear, and most importantly, his mother Nadia, who passed away while he was in high school, as his inspirations. "My mother was my biggest influence," he says. "I love rummaging through her closet as a kid, and by age 11, I was sewing and designing full Barbie collections." (The closet was in Syracuse, N.Y., where the Palestinian Mounayer was raised.) He adds that his mother and aunts had a penchant for glitz: "'Solve it with a sequin' was always my mother's mantra.

"I just want to design real clothes that make women look good," he continues. To that end, he recently quit his job with Ann Taylor (he said his former bosses and co-workers are very supportive) so he can pursue his own collection full time, and he'll even wait tables if that's what it takes to survive. "Of course I am looking for backers—look what happened to Miguel [Adrover]. He was a big inspiration to have my show." Right now though, everything has exceeded his expectations. "I really just wanted to introduce myself." Mounayer explains, "and say 'Hey, I design clothes' and get some feedback."