About Fashion X Texas
Fashion X Texas was founded in 2009 by Austin entrepreneur Matt Swinney. After his stints owning Rare Magazine and starting Austin Restaurant Week, the serial entrepreneur began Launch787, an Austin-area events company.
The first event Launch787 produced was Austin Fashion week in July 2009. Coming out of the 2008 recession, local boutiques were barely scraping by and Swinney thought building an event focused on the local fashion industry might help keep more lights on. That first “Fashion Week” wasn’t a fashion week at all — it was a series of trunk shows pairing local designers with retailers and capped off with the Austin Fashion Awards at The Long Center.
But it worked. The industry came together and the press was buzzing. Austin had a true event that helped mobilize an industry that had been fragmented.
As the years went by, Austin Fashion Week morphed into a much more traditional fashion week concept. Huge runway shows featuring independent designers from all over the world first at The Driskill Hotel, and then La Zona Rosa, Austin Music Hall and the JW Marriott. Multi-day events featuring dozens of designers became a staple of the Austin culture.
In 2013, Swinney sold Launch787 in order to launch a larger fashion events brand, Fashion X Texas. That year, Fashion X Dallas was launched in partnership with the Fashion Industry Gallery (fig) and in 2016, through a partnership with Cadillac, Fashion X Houston was born.
In 2019, Austin expanded into a semiannual event with seasonal shows in Spring and Fall and moved to Austin’s sparkling development, The Domain.
2020 was a challenge. All events were shut down due to the COVID-19 global pandemic and Fashion X hung on through virtual shows, social media pushes and anything it could do to try and support the fashion communities in Texas.
Late 2021, Austin Fashion Week relaunched with resounding success and has been twice per year since at The Domain. Fall 2023 brought the resurgence of Fashion X Dallas in partnership with The Village Dallas. And plans in 2024 are being made to expand back into Houston and potentially new markets in San Antonio and Fort Worth.
Today, Fashion X Texas emphasizes independent and emerging brands through runway shows and pop up shops — primarily with brands interested in selling direct to consumer. There is a strong emphasis on social impact. Fashion designers from marginalized groups (BiPOC, LGBTQIA+, Women-owned businesses, etc) are often awarded scholarships through Fashion X Gives, an internally run nonprofit organization or though grants provided by Austin Area Urban League and others. All shows partner with a nonprofit organization through the unique Style Strutter program. Every Fashion X Texas runway is inclusive: ethnicity, gender, size, ability level and more are always featured through our unique model selections.
Austin Fashion Week is the 4th largest fashion week concept in the United States.
We hope that you’ll participate in 2024 either as part of the industry or by simply attending shows. Everyone is welcome and every ticket purchased helps to ensure that the fashion industry in Texas can continue to stay strong.
The Fashion X Texas Team
From left to right: Mia Morales (Operations); Todd White (Photo & Video); Claire Saldana (Back of House); Matt Swinney (AFW Founder); Dani Curiel (Front of House).