The Austin Fashion Week planning stages took nearly a year and the party at GSD&M kicked off the event in Austin style. Launch787, “Bright Lights, Idea City” packed in a diverse crowd of Austin’s social elite to the eclectic Austin SOCO crowd. One thing is for sure, the fashion scene in Austin has grown, is vibrant and supportive of the industry, on all levels. And the heat did not deter anyone from attending.
And speaking of heat, it was on the minds of all, but hey…what do you expect on August 14 in Texas? Thankfully the sun shaded the runway in the garden area of the venue which made it actually quite comfortable. Air kisses and hugs were common place. Whenever anyone greeted each other, it was immediately met with, “love you, great to see you, but don’t touch me!!”
The red carpet was open to all who wanted to feel like an Austin rock star for about a minute. Inside, attendees bid on silent auction items all to benefit Dress for Success.
Eighties pop sweetheart, Tiffany performed her popular singles and engaged the crowd with sing-a-long with “I Think We’re Alone Now”. She also made it very clear that her high-heeled shoes were going to be history, and as promised, they were about third song. That’s ok, everyone’s dogs were barking at the end of the night too.
The models took to the catwalk with fashions from the Twelfth Street by Cynthia Vincent and menswear from Robert Stock for Robert Graham (available at Keepers). Then the Mash Up Team models came out and modeled their competition “look”. What’s a mash up team? A make-up artist, designer, accessory designer, etc made up a team, they styled a “look” then had a photo shoot with a photographer. Then online voting will determine the winner. The winner will be announced at the Austin Fashion Awards on Saturday, August 21. An afterparty at Speakeasy entertained guests till wee hours.
Fashionably Austin photographer Gerry Hanan was in the pit along with Ed Lehmann and Rita Quinn.
