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Austin Fashion Week not your typical haute-y event

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  • Aprill Brandon •
  • Originally published August 18, 2010 at midnight, updated August 19, 2010 at 7:05 p.m.

  • AUSTIN FASHION WEEKYou can still make Austin Fashion Week, which continues through Saturday. Events scheduled are:

    Friday

    Pearl Southern Couture Trunk Show at BEEHIVE, noon-6:30 p.m.

    Neiman Marcus Celebrates Austin Fashion Week at the Neiman Marcus store at ...

  • SHOW ALL »

    • AUSTIN FASHION WEEKYou can still make Austin Fashion Week, which continues through Saturday. Events scheduled are:

    Friday

    Pearl Southern Couture Trunk Show at BEEHIVE, noon-6:30 p.m.

    Neiman Marcus Celebrates Austin Fashion Week at the Neiman Marcus store at The Domain, 6-8 p.m.

    Get Styled at Madewell at The Domain, 7-9 p.m.

    Cocktails & Couture at The Nomad Bar, 8 p.m.

    Sabra Johnson at Aces Lounge, 9 p.m.

    That's A Wrap at Crow Bar, 9 p.m.

    Saturday

    2nd Annual Austin Fashion Awards at the Long Center for Performing Arts, 5:30 p.m.

    For more information or to purchase tickets to any of the events, go to www.austinfashionweek.com.

There are certain cities around the world that, at this point, have become almost synonymous with the fashion industry.

New York.

Paris.

London.

Milan.

Austin, however, is a city that's better known for keeping things weird than for haute couture. So when the city puts together a fashion week, you can bet it won't be your typical runway shows and after parties.

Austin Fashion Week, which kicked off last weekend and continues through Saturday, is only in its second year, but those involved think it's a perfect match for a city that harbors creative people of all types.

"I think that Austin trying to be a fashion forward and fashion thinking city is a good thing. There are so many creative people here. Honestly, I wasn't even a fashion designer until I moved here," said Anslee Connell, designer of the SavannahRed collection. "I started sewing in Austin six months after moving here. It's that kind of vibe. The city pushes you to do more, do better, to create, to live in your creativity. So, I feel it's fitting, actually more than fitting, that Austin would be a fashion-focus city."

For Amanda Fay, another self-taught Austin fashion designer, the weeklong event is one of the reasons that compelled her to expand her creativity. Her first clothing line, the Yoshimi Collection, debuted at the Fashion's Most Wanted show at the Belmont on Sunday. Describing her collection as a fantasy of rock 'n' roll gypsies who travel to Japan, Fay managed to not only learn how to make clothes in under a year, but also put together a whole collection in only nine months.

"I've been working on this collection since last November, which is when I started teaching myself how to make clothing. Before that, I was only making accessories," she said. "I learned on Youtube. I saw people draping on a mannequin and I was like, 'Oh, I can do that.' And then, I started making my own patterns."

Featuring a wide array of local designers and designers from around Texas, Austin Fashion Week is set up as a series of events hosted primarily at retail and salon locations throughout the city. With each featured designer having to go through a vetting process to ensure only the best and brightest are featured, the vetting committee looks for both established designers and up-and-coming designers as well, according to the event's official website, www.AustinFashionWeek.com. In addition to clothing, accessories, jewelry and even home furnishings are featured.

But the week is not only about fashion. It's also about raising awareness for various causes, such as maintaining sustainable practices in the textile industry.

Sara Hasslinger, an Austinite who is originally from Wisconsin, is the creator of Monster Love, a community art program that uses recycled paper. One of the participants in the Keep Austin Beautiful Fashion Show on Sunday, Hasslinger was one of the many designers who devoted their time to create outfits made from recycled or discarded materials for the runway event.

"Fashion week? I love it. And I love Austin. I was looking for a community and here it's all collaborative. Everyone collaborates. It's not a competitive art scene here, which I love," she said. "If someone is doing something similar to you, they want to work with you."


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