AUSTIN, Texas — Designers and models of all ages and ethnicities strutted the runway Saturday morning for the first shows in year 15 of Austin Fashion Week.
"For Austin, I've built it around diversity,” said Matt Swinney, founder of Austin Fashion Week. “Everybody is seen on the runway.”
Matt Swinney started Austin Fashion Week back in 2009 when he wanted to bring the fashion community in Austin together.
"Retailers in Austin had been failing left and right, and there was this burgeoning fashion community, but nobody had really put it all together, and I felt like then, that's all I wanted to do,” Swinney said.
Now, Austin Fashion Week has spring and fall shows, showcasing around 50 designers, proving that the event has earned its place right behind the top global fashion events.
"As the city has grown, so have we,” Swinney said. “We have so many new designers moving in, we have so many people from the coasts coming that have had really significant careers in fashion."
Austin has positioned itself as a place to be for up-and-coming designers, and Swinney hopes Fashion Week can bring Austin more recognition.
"Who is going to create that next thing here? I think that's where the real economic impact is, if you're really talking dollars... that's when you can help brands get to that point or near that point,” Swinney said.
Fashion is a multi-billion-dollar industry, so the growth of Austin's fashion industry means the city is growing with it.
"Other places are seeing the value of Austin fashion,” said Nina Means, Austin Fashion Week attendee, and Director of ACC Fashion Incubator. “Women's Wear Daily was here for South by Southwest and how exciting it is for Austin to really be on the map for creating fashion, fashion technology, and sustainability."
Swinney says Austin has always been supportive of the arts, so fashion is just another outlet of that.
“We are cultural arts heavy and forward, and that’s all fashion is at the end of the day.”
It's something Austin is now starting to share with the world.
"I think Austin has something very powerful to say when it comes to fashion,” Means said.
“The Heritage here is so strong. And I think people really want to share their experience through clothes, but I think it's something that the world enjoys, too, so we should share with everyone."