She's dressed runway models, rock bands and actors. Now Minneapolis fashion designer Laura Fulk wants to dress you too.

Best known for creating "avant-garde, wild pieces," for dozens of shows in recent years, Fulk is launching her first ready-to-wear collection geared toward young professional women.

"A lot of it in the past has been wearable but kind of pushing it a little bit," Fulk says. "For this collection, I'm really focusing hard on making it more wearable. It still looks like Laura Fulk but there's more you can take away and wear from it." Fulk debuted her autumn/winter 2010 collection in a solo show on April 20. On top of making more than 50 pieces for her own show, she also dressed St. Paul singer/songwriter Mayda for MnFashion Week's Voltage: Fashion Amplified rock 'n' runway bash.

Minneapolis painters Melissa Breitenfeldt and Laura Weber created artwork that was translated into custom prints for much of the fabric Fulk used in her collection, themed "To the Ends of the Universe." Fulk is working with two business partners to have 15 ready-to-wear pieces manufactured. They're to go on sale this fall in stores and boutiques around the country and at her website, www.laurafulk.com. Fulk, 27, has an associate's degree in fashion design and a bachelor of fine arts degree from the Minneapolis College of Art & Design. There she focused on printmaking, sculpture and photography, tying them into her fashion. Her work for theater productions and rock bands include Mayda, Bella Koshka, Sandbox Theater and the Workhouse Collective.

Three and out with fashion designer Laura Fulk

• What's your new collection like?

There are combinations of blouses, skirts, pants and dresses. I did some semi-complicated sweaters and some really great outerwear jackets for the first time, which is exciting. We're going to push those for market for sure.

• Your life sounds like "Project Runway" on steroids — what do they leave out?

They do a pretty good job of giving an inside view. But they don't let the designers sew all night. I don't know a single designer who sleeps. The last two months I've slept three or four hours a night. It's actually even more stressful than what they show.

• Why do a more commercial collection?

To make a living as a designer, you need to be able to sell stuff, and I have in the past. You need to react to what people want to wear. This isn't just a hobby for me. I want to be able to make a living out of this.