Recap: Austin Threads Exclusive Fashion Show

It was early on a Sunday morning and the banter from the MCs before the runway show was driving me insane forcing me to down my mimosa faster than I should have.  But once the actual fashion show got started, it was a really fun show to watch.  Some of the most talented designers in Austin plus one New Yorker showed off their latest designs last weekend at the Austin Threads Exclusive Fashion Show.  But of course, the show was not lacking some criticism from me.

Malissa Long is talented and I like her designs, but the majority of the dresses that she showed this night were designs that I have seen from her for about a year now.  The one thing I haven't seen from her before was the rainbow dress which I kinda wanted to lick because it looked like a giant popsicle.  The popsicle dress was a really fun new aesthetic from her and I would like to see more from this, which was completely disjointed from her older neutral looks.  I'm excited to see more new stuff from her in the future and hopefully a more cohesive collection.

Yep, Cypress Vanguard Has It All

I finally got to go check out the local designer fashion house, Cypress Vanguard today!  The space that was formerly home to Launch 787 and lingerie designer Megan Summerville transformed in December to the local designer fashion house now knows as Cypress Vanguard.  In addition to housing the designs of Megan Summerville, this shop contains the locally designed clothing and accessories from the Ross Bennett Collection, savannahred, milli starr, By Jeannie Jewelry, Tracy Tenpenny, and Foxy Fusions.

Here's a little bit of info. on the designer collections you will find at Austin's fashion house:

Megan Summerville

Handmade lingerie in styles varying from girly to sexy to everything in between.  Each month Megan is releasing a signature bra and panty set from her high end Megan Summerville Signature line, which is known for one-of-a-kind pieces that are made from extremely rare and luxurious fabrics.  For January and February Megan has released a romantic velvet set which is custom dyed with a 1920s vintage cotton lace accented and hand beaded cup.

Cypress Vanguard Launch

Back in October I talked to local lingerie designer Megan Summerville about her shop and she informed me that her space would be expanding in the future to include more local designers.  The goal of Megan and Launch787's Matt Swinney was to create a one stop shopping experience for people looking for locally designed clothing and accessories.

Megan and Matt's vision is now a reality as the Cypress Vanguard Fashion House is launching this Sunday with local designers such as Anslee Connelly of savannahred and Ross Bennett of the Ross Bennett Collection (to name a few) joining forces to bring you a power house of locally designed merchandise.

Recap: Glam, Glitter, & Gore Fashion Show

I guess I shouldn't have set my production value expectations too high for an event taking place at a venue called Starving Art Studios.  The small room with low ceilings, lack of good lighting, and questionable DJ made me feel a little nervous about what the fashion show was going to entail.

The turnout for this shopping event and fashion show was probably not what the artists and designers involved had hoped for.   As I stood around waiting for the fashion show to start, it became more and more clear to me that this crowd was similar to that you would see at a school play.  The people in attendance seemed to be mostly that of close family and friends of the people involved.

With all of that said, once the show actually started (an hour later than it was supposed to) I thought it was fun.  I especially liked Anslee of savannahred's Day of the Dead inspired designs.  But after waiting for so long for the show to start, I was disappointed with how quickly the show was over.  I wish there had been more designers involved in this show so that there would have been more designs to see.

Here are my photos from the show that took place last Saturday:

savannahred

Glam, Glitter, & Gore

Ok, the text on that flyer might possibly be the worst I have ever seen.  There is way too much going on to able to decipher anything.  Luckily I am here to break it down for you.

Glam, Glitter, and Gore is a shopping and art event happening today at the Starving Art Studios.  Starting at noon today, you can enjoy food trailers, an indoor artist market, outdoor vendors, family friendly costume projects and crafts, face painting, and more.  This portion of the event is more geared towards families and kids.

Starting at 6 pm the event becomes more focused on the adults.  There will be a closing reception for the Glam, Glitter, & Gore art exhibition that has been going on since October 1st.  You can enjoy drinks, live music, a costume contest, photo booths, and more.

But the main reason I am excited about this event is the fashion show that is taking place at 6:30.    This fashion show will feature collaborative designs by svannahred, Jinxedaposed, Megan Summerville, Jennifer Cunningham, The Curiosarium, Al Shults, Shalena Designs, Simmang Designs, and more.

Bon La Vu Fashion Show and Launch Party

Bon La Vu is a new online boutique that features one styled outfit a day assembled by stylists with various pieces from local boutiques and designers.  To celebrate their website launching, Bon La Vu has put together a fashion show that will feature individual local designer pieces as well as outfits created by Bon La Vu stylists.

JR Salon Walk Off

This Saturday the second annual Walk Off hosted by JR Salon took place.  Boutiques and designers were paired up with salons to create some unique looks.  Here's a behind the scenes and up close and personal look at one of the models from the show:

Design by Anslee of Savannah Red, body paint by Michelle of On The Spot Body Art, hair by Sirens Salon

Doesn't she look like some sort of sexy version of a fairytale character from a Disney movie?

Thank you Anslee for the video!

Joanna

keep austin stylish

Backstage With SavannahRed

How often do you get to see what goes on behind the scenes of a fashion show up close and personal? Unless you're a model, designer, hair stylist, or makeup artist, the chances are that your seat has been on the other side of the stage.  Lucky for y'all, my friend and local designer, Anslee Connell of SavannahRed volunteered to give us a behind the curtain look at what goes on before a fashion show.   Here are Anslee's thoughts on the "Texas A State of Fashion" show which was held at none other than the Capitol building during this year's Austin Fashion Awards...

I’m not just your average clothing designer.  I create fun, funky, vibrant, and dare I say well fitting, pieces of art that fit ladies of the curvy variety.  I'm here to give you a glimpse of what we do when we get ready for shows (and perhaps some glimpses of things we shouldn’t do).

Anslee Connell (me!) of SavannahRed in the process of getting my makeup done by Coby Simcoe before the show!
Photo taken by Cathie Hutchins.