Thomas Lazar left high school in Year 11 but today, the Edensor Park designer has been chosen to show his couture gowns at one of Australia's most prestigious fashion shows -- Fashion ­Palette.

Mr Lazar, 27, said he is only now coming to understand his success is real, after starting to design gowns just three years ago.

"It's coming to the crunch time," he said, "I'm more excited than anything."

Held at the Art Gallery of NSW on Tuesday, March 10, Fashion Palette showcases Australia's most talented independent designers and this year will also feature the work of Leona Edmiston.

It's a world away from the Wynyard Hungry Jacks where Mr Lazar worked for three years, after dropping out of Bankstown Senior College in Year 11.

"I was going to be a nothing in my life," he said. "Everything I've gone to study I dropped out of ... it was just horrible."

His life turned around by chance, when a friend asked him to make her wedding dress.

"I was not very confident," he said.

Now, there is a waiting list until May 2016 for his gowns, which can cost up to $13,000.

"My parents were blown away," he said, "it changed my world."

A member of the Assyrian community, Mr Lazar said his love of fashion goes back to his childhood, when he would go to weddings and stare at the bride's gown.

"It wasn't easy back in those days, or culturally accepted, for a guy to do fashion," Mr Lazar said.

As a designer, Mr Lazar says he never wants to repeat himself.

"My stuff is very intricate and it's very bold," he said, "I like different things that stand out."

Fashion Palette is Mr Lazar's first full-length fashion show. He will be presenting a mix of ready-to- wear pieces, couture evening gowns and wedding dresses, some of which have 5m trains.

In the next few months, Mr Lazar will become even more entrenched in Australia's design elite when he opens his own shop and collaborates on photoshoots with Australia's top bridal and fashion magazines.