I was instantly struck by the maturity of his designs – Nima specializes in feminine, elegant cuts with a decidedly modern twist – and by the fact that he produced a full range of shoes and bags (really, really good shoes and bags) to accessorize his thesis collection. And I wasn’t the only one impressed. Within months of graduating, Nima’s collection was hanging on the racks at Saks Fifth Avenue. Not bad for a fashion world newbie.

Today, Nima continues to sell at Saks, along with specialty boutiques worldwide, and his designs have been featured in WWD, ELLE, InStyle, and Harper’s BAZAAR. We’ve kept in touch, whether it’s during NYFW (when I’ve reviewed his collections for TFI and Vogue.com UK) or socially, as we have friends in common and tend to travel in the same circles.

A few weeks ago, we met up for dinner at Corsino Cantina, one of our favorite haunts in the West Village. “You have to try the beet salad, it’s incredible!” he urged as we settled in at our table overlooking Horatio Street and ordered two glasses of rosé. “You only like it because it has pistachios,” I teased (Nima was born in Iran, a huge supplier of the little green nuts). “You’re probably right,” he laughed.

He also suggested that I run, not walk, to check out the newly opened section of the High Line park – “it’s beautiful!” – which culminates near his apartment in Chelsea. Over beet salad and Spanish mackerel with asparagus for me, tagliatelle with pork ragu and mint for him, we discussed the benefits of living in Brooklyn or Queens versus Manhattan (in a nutshell: larger living spaces and open sky vs. the convenience of getting around quickly).

Nima told me about his plans to continue growing his business and explained that he prefers pop-up selling days (which are held in stores on season) to trunk shows (which take place months before the merchandise arrives for a particular season, meaning customers can only see sample garments – and can’t try things on if they aren’t a sample size). In the last “crazy, crazy” year, Nima’s pop-up selling events took him to San Francisco, Houston, Naples, Palm Beach, Bal Harbor, Dallas, Boston, D.C., Chevy Chase, and Chicago (where he does the annual fashion show benefit for Children’s Memorial Hospital). “It’s interesting; the clientele is completely different – with a completely different look – in every city.”

He confided that he hadn’t had a summer vacation since he left school – “I can’t, I’m always working!” – but that he usually sneaks away for some R&R in late September (this year’s destination: Europe, possibly Berlin), and always goes to Aspen for a week of skiing following the February shows.

We discussed our mutual ex-Parsons pals Tim Gunn and Carmela Spinelli (she’s now the Dean of the Fashion Department at SCAD – the Savannah College of Art and Design – and he’s … well, you know what Tim is up to). We also agreed that life feels more manageable without TV (neither of us own one) and leaves more time for things like reading books, such as “The Hunger Games,” Nima’s current fave. “It’s great,” he said with a laugh between sips of vino. “You die or fight to the death, and there’s lots of fashion. It’s so much my life!”

As we headed back out onto the sweltering sidewalk, Nima told me he was planning a “more low-key, intimate” presentation for September Fashion Week to showcase his Spring 2012 collection, which promises to be “fun, colorful, uplifting, and chic.” Just like the man himself.

Marc Jacobs. Anna Sui. Donna Karan. Narciso Rodriguez. Proenza Schouler. Prabal Gurung. Doo.Ri. Tracy Reese. Vena Cava. Isaac Mizrahi. Chris Benz.

All of these designers — and hundreds more, both famous and not — are graduates of Parsons The New School for Design. So it’s always exciting when the Parsons senior show rolls around each spring, as it’s pretty much guaranteed that you’re going to discover at least a few new fashion stars of tomorrow. The school was first established in 1896, and for the past few years I’ve been on Parsons’ senior thesis panel, which takes place a few weeks before the show and involves the graduating fashion students presenting their collections to a group of industry insiders (this time, my fellow panelists included designer Maria Cornejo and Teen Vogue Fashion Director Gloria Baume). A separate panel then votes to name a Designer of the Year in the womenswear, menswear, and children’s wear categories, which are announced at the gala event.

Monday’s show honored Parsons alum Reed Krakoff (who designs his own signature line and is the Executive Creative Director at Coach), and was held at Pier 60 along the Chelsea Piers. It featured the work of 34 graduating designers on the glossy white X-shaped runway, which was surrounded by four huge video screens, with additional student work displayed on mannequins throughout the sunny, waterfront space.

“[Going to Parsons] was an amazing gift; I’m indebted to them,” Krakoff told the audience before announcing that senior Joel Harding had won the Coach Project “It’s All in the Details,” which involved reinterpreting the iconic Coach duffle bag. He was awarded a $2,500 cash prize and a summer internship at Coach.

Then the lights dimmed and it was sh-sh-sh-showtime, folks! First out was the cool urban kids’ line by 21-year-old Serena Chang from Tucson, Arizona (who took home the Designer of the Year prize in that category), followed by a dizzying slew of menswear (the award in that arena went to T. Young Hwang, 30, of Seoul, South Korea - though I also loved the fashion-forward menswear by Grace Hu).

Not surprisingly, there were a ton of really terrific womenswear collections as well. Standouts included the handcrafted floral embellishment of Snehal Bathwal, painterly prints by Andria Crescioni, luxe sportswear from Brian Suter-Maury and Paige Kettering (the latter of which put me in mind of Chado Ralph Rucci), great chunky knits by Joanna Akkaoul, and highly architectural fringed and embellished pieces by David Ferron, who was named Women’s Wear Designer of the Year.

Afterwards, I wandered around the venue checking out the other student clothing and accessories displays, where I ran into the gracious Mr. Krakoff, who was happily posing for photos with the graduates.

As always, I discovered some wonderfully creative designers — and I can’t wait to see which of these talented newcomers will join the ranks of Marc, Donna, and Proenza in seasons to come.

Lauren David Peden writes for Rue La La as a Contributing Editor.