AUSTIN, Texas — Austin Fashion Week (AFW) is returning to the runway this weekend at The Domain. The event is going into its 14th year with almost 60 designers showing their new collections on the runway and in pop-up shops.
Due to rainy weather, Friday's shows were moved indoors, but Saturday and Sunday's 1:30 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. shows will be outdoors.
This year, AFW is partnering with the Austin Area Urban League (AAUL). The League has provided a grant this season to allow around 10 Black fashion designers the opportunity to show during AFW.
"We want to be able to support the designers by providing business support services through the SBA community navigator pilot program, which is offered through our Entrepreneurship Empowerment Center," said Selena Gray with the AAUL.
Brandon Kafarela, a designer from Houston, stopped in to visit KVUE Weekend Daybreak after showing his collection on Friday afternoon. Kafarela said he grew up around vintage fashion and that's what inspired his collection, Molly x Niko.
"My collection is Molly x Niko, which is actually named after my grandparents. For me, I'm really inspired by vintage fashion. I grew up going to resales with my grandparents, and their heyday was the '70s too, so I feel like a lot of those patterns and that structure really came alive in my first collection, which I was able to showcase yesterday," Kafarela said.
AFW is the fourth-largest fashion week in the U.S. It was started in 2009 as an annual event featuring designers showcasing in local stores but then grew into major runway shows at various venues around the city: The Long Center, ACL Live at the Moody Theater, The Driskill Hotel, Austin Music Hall, La Zona Rosa, JW Marriott, Vault Space and now The Domain.
Under direction from Matt Swinney, founder of Austin Fashion Week, AFW has hosted almost 100 different events featuring close to 1,000 fashion designers.
Tickets are still available here.
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