By ERIC WILSON

NEW YORK - A new generation of Internet-savvy young designers in New York has the potential to transform American fashion, in a city that has not always been so hospitable to talented designers. An impressive cohort, they presented their spring collections during New York Fashion Week from September 9-16; The New York Times invited six with the greatest promise to a round-table discussion.

Joseph Altuzarra started his sharp women’s collection after working at Givenchy in Paris. Sophie Theallet, who also worked in Paris, is the latest winner of a grant from the Council of Fashion Designers of America and Vogue magazine. Alexa Adams and Flora Gill, of Ohne Titel, worked for Karl Lagerfeld. (Ms. Gill was traveling and unable to attend.) Wayne Lee, whose label is Wayne, got her start as a buyer at Barneys.

Max Osterweis, of Suno, built a collection that celebrated the textiles of Kenya and helped revive its garment industry. Patrik Ervell began making men’s wear after working at magazines like V. A conversation follows, edited for space and clarity. QUESTION. Do you sense a shift taking place in fashion? MS. ADAMS: The only thing I can say is the globalization of fashion, which I think is really amazing.

There used to be an idea of an American fashion, French fashion or European fashion, and maybe an Asian fashion or a Japanese fashion. It’s not that way anymore.

MR. ALTUZARRA: There is a definite sense of community here, which is very different from somewhere like Paris or Milan. I think it exists more in London, but the idea that you can succeed as a young designer is something very important in the industry in New York.

I also think, when you look at Paris or you look at Milan, there are just so many really big, huge houses. It’s just a lot more difficult to break into those markets.

MS. THEALLET: It’s possible for you to make something in New York because the people are willing to know about you and they give you that chance, and I think it’s fantastic.

You don’t find that in Paris for sure, because it’s more closed. Here it’s more open. All the designers know each other, we hang out together.

Q. What do you think defines American fashion today?

MS. LEE: You have to be a designer who is receptive to what your customers want, but at the same time you have to have your vision. For me, inspiration comes from when I am away from fashion. I really enjoy going to museums, to new places. That is really when I pick up inspiration.

Q. How do you all cope with the speed of exposure that is a result of the media frenzy?

MR. OSTERWEIS: We got a lot of attention, even before we had a single piece in a store. We had Time magazine come to Kenya to spend a week with us two or three months before we had anything in the stores.

MR. ALTUZARRA: I think you can control the limelight. I mean, you don’t have to say yes to everything. You can pick and choose and decide how you want to grow. Of course the Internet part is a little harder to control.

MS. ADAMS: For all of us who are new, it’s actually a huge opportunity.

It’s almost like, not a democratization of fashion, but something where there is this limelight that is looking for new things. You get the choice of what exposure you want, instead of begging to be part of a story of older brands and bigger companies.I especially like all the blog and Internet press, because I think it’s really interesting to see all different people’s viewpoints. Fashion doesn’t have to be so monolithic or just one voice.

Q. Who inspires you as designers? Who are your role models?

MR. ALTUZARRA: I think, not necessarily aesthetically, but as a business, Dries Van Noten, because it’s based on clothes, which seems pretty much near impossible.

MR. OSTERWEIS: I like Dries as well, and I think Junya Watanabe and Rei [Kawakubo] I like quite a lot.

MS. ADAMS: I have always been inspired by the way Raf Simons has grown his business.

MR. ERVELL: When I was a teenager in the ‘90s, I was looking a lot at Helmut Lang. MS. THEALLET: Of course, Azzedine Alaia, because he is doing collections exactly as he wants. Dries, as you say, for the way that he makes a business, and Prada also. And Yves Saint Laurent.

MS. LEE: I really admire Martin Margiela. He is very visionary, but he has always paced his exposure, and his line always stays true to what he believes.

Q. So not one American designer?

MR. ALTUZARRA: I was thinking about this before. A business like Ralph Lauren I admire. I just don’t know if that is something that can really be achieved anymore. That level and that size, that all-encompassing product range, that lifestyle. On that scale, something like Prada is a little more attainable. What I think is interesting about Prada is that there is also this idea of a created heritage. Prada is not that old of a brand, but it feels really old, which I think is really smart, which is what Ralph Lauren did. Essentially he appropriated America as his legacy and his heritage.

Q. What did you mean when you said it would be impossible just to sell and design clothes today?

MR. ALTUZARRA: That’s exactly what I meant. There is a very interesting disconnect, sometimes, between what clients are looking for and what buyers are looking for and what designers are making. You can do something really well in Italy with beautiful fabric, and it’s going to cost $2,000 at retail, but Zara is going to make the same thing in Portugal, one month later, for $250. The people who are really discerning will buy your product, but most of them will just want the look of what you made and buy it at Zara.

MR. OSTERWEIS: Do you sell internationally online?

MR. ERVELL: We do, but mostly the orders come from North America.

MS. ADAMS: We’ve had a huge amount of growth in China. What you are seeing there is more money in China, and people are interested in buying clothing from new designers. Age really isn’t an issue for us in Asia, especially in China.

MR. ERVELL: For me also, Asia - non-Japan Asia - has been really big for me, Hong Kong, South Korea, Taiwan and also now starting mainland China. It’s been a really big part of our growth.

MR. ALTUZARRA: Do you make a different product line for them?

MR. ERVELL: No. Same wholesale prices.

MS. ADAMS: : We don’t do different sizing. We do the same thing as we do for everyone else.

Q. What was the single best decision that you have made?

MR. ERVELL: I think just starting small and slow, and that’s not everyone’s approach.

Q. One last question: How do you know that you’ve made it?

MS. LEE: I think we’ve all made it. We’re all actualizing our dreams. We’re all doing what we want to do, so in a sense, we’ve made it.