10 Sep 2011
Posted by admin 
During Austin Fashion week, I was so impressed with the abundance of talent which came together to produce such phenomenal results. Austin was a great stage for showcasing not only the well known designers, such as Boudoir Queen (featured in Vogue Italia’s September issue), but also for great new and emerging designers. It proved to be a great showcase for not only fashion designers, but also for jewelry designers, accessory designers, make-up artists, hair stylists, photographers, event coordinators, and (of course) stylists.
Austin Fashion Week was hosted across the city in multiple venues, which allowed attendees to mingle and meet both the seasoned and the new designers who presented their newest collections. The main stage, hosted by the Driskill Hotel, was absolutely wonderful. In addition, multiple retailers, hair salons, and galleries hosted those designers (clothing, jewelry, accessories) for venues which also received coverage from local media. It was truly impressive to see the true power of our local photographers; the majority of small venues were captured on film and made available on social media to share with the world. In addition to a vast array of talented models who have already made a name for themselves in the area, there was an impressive amount of new models participating in the various venues.
To my dismay, our city was recently mentioned on the news as one of the worst dressed cities in the US… I totally disagree. Casual? Yes. Okay, extremely casual? Yes. But Austinites are known as being free spirits for a reason. I believe that one of the reasons that Austin is so amazing is that we freely express our feelings and our fashion senses with colors, patterns, and textures… always trying to bring uniqueness to reflect our moods and personality. Granted, there is a time and a place for everything, but the uber-casual look is generally something that we see on weekends.
Our city can be very proud of the combined efforts which put Austin Fashion Week on the map. Yes, this year’s Austin Fashion Week has come to a close, but it’s important to remember that this is a thriving and fast-moving industry… local professionals collaborate with each other daily on fashion projects to bring innovative designs to life. The industry continuously promotes such designs, make-up achievements, hair concepts, and styling breakthroughs through social media such as facebook.
Austin fashion continues to grow by leaps and bounds, thanks to the collaborative work of industry professionals and the support of local entities, such as Fashionably Austin, which consistently support and promote fashion events.
Do we have room to grow and improve? Of course. Perhaps there is a way to help provide even greater expose to our city’s businesses (almost 85% of which are small businesses) to large buyers and other clients who may typically only attend the main-stage events. There is some serious talent out there just waiting for that once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. But let’s not forget that Austin Fashion Week has already generated an amazing amount of positive exposure for many local talents… bravo!
This is a community that passionately embraces art and fashion, and it’s an honor to work with so many talented and creative people. I am always on the lookout for that next great collaborative opportunity to work again with such extremely talented professionals.
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Best Regards,
Leonardo D’Almagro
Leonardo D’Almagro, LLC
Fashion Stylist and Wardrobe Consultant
500 Grace Lane, Suite 2
Austin, Texas 78746
PH: (512) 761-8093
