Austin Fashion Week Wraps Spring Runway Street Edition At The Domain

As we spring forward into the warmer weather in Austin, Texas, here are some highlights and favorite mentions from the writers who attended the recent Austin Fashion shows from the street runway of The Domain in north Austin.

Friday Recap

Written by Laurie Grobe

Designer Aaron Torres of Sleep, Never. Photo – Todd White

Sleep, Never is a custom ready-to-wear brand focused on sustainability. Designer and owner Aaron Torres — a Texas native, born and raised in El Paso — explained that he designs with upcycled materials, and works to create art while saving the planet.

“I can’t align with fast fashion or overproduction at all. I think the future of fashion is sustainable apparel,” Torres said. “Nothing is 100% sustainable, but the impact fast fashion and the fashion industry at large leaves on the planet is part of the problem of our current state of climate change and climate crisis. So if I, as an artist, can do something I love and utilize my talents to at least fight against the system in my own way, then that makes me happy. I think that’s what the planet needs.”

Torres got his start in fashion by thrifting and designing for Urban Outfitters’ Urban Renewal line. He began upcycling clothes at the young age of 18 and soon learned how to alter his own clothes, as he was often too short for standard sizes.

His collection at this year’s Austin Fashion Week featured bright colors and the slouch of indie sleaze, every look is better than the last. Torres said he was inspired to do a collection based on 90’s nostalgia, with the recent passing of fashion designer and icon Thierry Mugler.

Saturday Recap

See more photos from the entire fashion Gallery

Written by: Kelsie Davis (@kelsbdav)

Fashion designer and FashionDisorder founder Trisha Sherman shared that this was not only her first time at Austin Fashion Week but her first show

Designer Trisha Sherman with FashionDisorder photo: Gregg Cestaro

in Texas. Her Flora Gaia collection, inspired by Greek mythology and Gaea, the goddess of earth, debuted with lavender and orange hues, beautifully detailed florals, and earth tones that did more than catching the eye – they dropped jaws.

“I wanted to look at Flora Gaia being something more beautiful, and what not to think of that’s more beautiful on earth is flowers?” Sherman said. “It’s just a play on words again — like our name, FashionDisorder. It’s just a whimsical, fantasy-like collection that I hope to portray to the audience that they are invoking some time of emotion or feeling. [I wanted to] spike their senses.”

Sherman, who was the first African American from the US to show her designs at Paris Fashion Week in 2019, recently debuted her designs at New York Fashion Week and is also featured in British Vogue’s May 2022’s Style Set section.

Designer Andrew Clancey of Any Old Iron – Photo Gregg Cestaro

Kickstarting the 4:30 runway show on Saturday was Any Old Iron, with fresh and fierce designs from Nashville, Tennessee. This brand was at Austin Fashion Week last season and still maintains to “wow” the crowd with its stunning colors, beaded suits, and one-of-a-kind sequined pieces. Designer Andrew Clancey’s client roster includes Cher, Ozzy Ozbourne, Beyoncé, Lady Gaga, Taylor Swift, Elton John, Cardi B, and Miranda Lambert, to name a few.

BELMUSE, a brand by up-and-coming fashion designer Bria Good, based in Austin, featured her first-ever collection, In Bloom, at her first-ever fashion show. The collection represented discovery and branching out from the norm in life. Good knew what she wanted to do at a young age, from sewing her Barbie clothes to now dressing models in her unique and bold designs.

“I’ve always wanted to find my own voice through clothes, and this was always an avenue for me,” Good said. “It’s so easy to express myself with clothes instead of anything else. When it comes down to that, I really just wanted to be that designer people can reach for when others want to feel better about themselves. I just want to create that piece in their closet where they’re like, yeah, this is the one.”

Sunday Recap

Written by: Kelsie Davis (@kelsbdav)

On Sunday, VCheri by Veronica “Cheri” Schofield showed off denim and orange outfits for women who are stylish and always on the go. Her designs aim to establish confidence, as women can make any sidewalk their own runway.

VCheri by Veronica “Cheri” Schofield – Photo Cheryl Bemis

Schofield launched her business in Houston and then relocated to Austin, and her work has been featured in Oxygen Magazine, XEX Magazine, New Orleans Gambit Magazine, Elegant Magazine, and more.

Hello Kaiya’s couture fashion designs are inspired by the Victorian era. The best part? Kaiya Inoue is only 13 years old, and this was not her first runway show, as we saw her stun the crowd at last season’s AFW.

Closing the fashion-filled weekend was Project Runway’s Alan Gonzalez’s nationally-recognized brand Alantude. Alan was on Project Runway’s season 18 and stunned the judges and designers with his eccentric, trendy, fierce, and custom-made-to-amaze designs – all with a little bit of attitude, of course.

Alan was born in Mexico and grew up in Texas, he discovered his talents at a very young age. Alan now co-hosts the Project Runway spin-off show Ris now the host of Project Runway Redemption, where he and Nina Garcia are the hosts of the new show.

Pop-up shops included: Brittany Allen, Protégé, Palmer James Designs, One Golden Thread, Priscila Lab, Shop LC, Deondra Jeree, Estilo, Kiki Price, Floral Sea, Alicia Miranda, Antheplife, and Deli Aroma.