Robert Rodriguez is debuting their Fall line tomorrow, Thursday, at the monthly Tribeza happy hour event. A representative from the label will be there to talk with audience members and help showcase the collection, which features sophisticated dark looks punctuated by bright pops of colors such as “sapphire,” “hyacinth” and “citrine.” The clothes are safe enough to appeal to a broad audience but very high fashion and classy. Rodriguez cut his teeth working with Christian Dior and his fans include Nicole Kidman and Scarlett Johansson. The event takes place at Valentine’s Too in Davenport Village hors d’oeuvres and drinks from 6 to 8 p.m.
Well it looks like the Mueller Development is making a positive step toward having a mix of local and chain retail. Fashionique, a new locally-owned designer jewelry and accessory store opened this month. Owner Stacy Uzuh is a costume design and theater arts grad from Texas State University and she aims at creating a global mix of accessories in the store. Believe it or not the store was a sort of college graduation present for Stacy, whose parents (who have their own interesting back story about coming to America from Nigeria) offered to help her open the shop upon graduation.
It looks like Stacy likes to be in front of the scenes in fashion as well as behind them. She’s modeled in Jet Magazine, Dillard’s and Aveda shows and has appeared in Houston Style Magazine.
I can’t find a website for the store, and I’ve as yet been unable to visit it, but you can check out the rest of the lineup of Mueller retail here.
Austin fashion design duo Team Fabrication are looking for nominees for their own first annual fashion awards. The awards are planned to accompany their fall fashion show, and thus far the categories, and my choices, include:
best dressed band: Still thinking, check back for update
best dressed female: Still thinking, check back for update
best dressed male: Still thinking, check back for update
best fashion photographer: Still thinking, check back for update
best fashion event: Stitch
best fashion publication: Tribeza
most fashionable venue: Red’s Scoot on Second Sunday
best boutique: Feathers and Big Bertha’s Bargain Basement (which really is best store owner because he makes the shop)
best clothing designer: Oh, this is a toughie, but Amanda Deleon is new and intriguing
best accessory designer: Naughty Secretary Club (if for no other reason than just how prolific she is)
best salon/stylist: Birds (seems cliche but no matter who cuts my hair there it always comes out looking great, they all do it a little different and it’s all wonderful)
Hmm..don’t see any category in there for best fashion blogger, but you guys know who the number one nominee for that is..hint hint. Team Fabrication are long time Stitch designers and have held a number of their own shows around Austin, and are taking your suggestions on their myspace blog. You can see looks from their last show at the Mohawk here:
Chantal Jones, Austinite and runner-up on America’s Next Top Model, Cycle 9 in 2007, stripped down to her underwear Friday the 27th in the name of charity. The 19-year-old graced the catwalk at Auckland Town Hall as part of the benefit for KidsCan, a national charity in New Zealand that aims to primarily provide raincoats, food and shoes for kids.
Following her stint on America’s Next Top Model, Jones has signed with Nous Model Management and the runway division of L.A. Models. Her credits include walking in runway shows in Austin, Texas, and in an Oscar De La Renta gown in an Oscar Fashion Preview. She has also modeled for Whitley Kros, Jenny Han, and Falguni & Shane Peacock in L.A. Fashion Week in and in the 2008 Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week. Moreover, she has participated in The Hills star Lauren Conrad’s debut collection fashion show and the Pussycat Dolls fashion show by Robin Antin during L.A. Fashion Week. Recently, Jones has been spotted modeling for Clandestine Industries Clothing in a Nordstorm mall, a line created by Pete Wentz of Fall Out Boy.
For a model, I’ve always found Chantal to be incredibly sweet, humble and ego-free and I’m glad she’s seeing some international success. Eve at he smaller shows I saw her perform in she always turned it on and was as professional as possible. For more Austin Style Watch coverage of Chantal you can check her, and her family out, in our video from the Sergio Guadarrama show in Austin.
Stumbled across this pretty cute piece from the Disney magazine, Wonder Time. It’s about kids’ fashion and it features three cuties from Austin talking about their wardrobe choices. Naturally, being kids, one is dressed as a cowboy and another as a SWAT team officer and they give some “Kids Say the Darndest Things”-worthy answers.
There are some kids for whom the traditional summer camp experience just won’t work. They show up to horse back riding in high-heel ankle boots and balk at the amount of closet space a tent provides. Ever since Project Runway debuted, sewing and clothing design has become a realistic aspiration for a whole generation of kids (the number of children asking questions to Tim Gunn when he was in Austin is a testament to this.) So local sewing shops are picking up on the trend offering sewing camps with hip young projects, and the first rounds of projects are just starting to trickle in.
I bet little sparkly tears came to the eyes of Tina Sparkles (which I must say once more, because it still astounds me, is her LEGAL name she chose) when she saw this lineup of girls in her poster-art dress designs. Tina, whose amazingness you can read about in many other posts, is presently teaching courses at First Samples. It’s barfingly cute how Tina describes why she loves each girl’s hand-painted dress, which you can see in the photo above, and you can tell she had just as much fun as her students. Tina still has three more sessions she is teaching and First Samples is also offering several other courses from sewing with patterns to the dreaded making of jeans. Evidently First Samples is also supposed to have a fashion show at the end of the summer featuring all the students’ creations, so I’ll keep you updated on that.
I flipped when I saw the images from the Austin School of Fashion Design’s Design and Sew Hats class. I’m a huge fan of fascinators and pillboxes and the idea of bringing the look back makes me overjoyed. Beyond having kids classes, this places is one of Austin’s most advanced sewing schools (though I bet the new Art Institute is giving them a run for their money) and if you just wanted to take the time this summer and revisit your summer camp days you can do that here with one of their tons of classes which include fashion illustration and using an industrial machine. Check out school owner Mary Margaret Quadlander’s lovely blog about the excitement of seeing her students learn.
Found this great review of the BuRo district on Austin comedy blog That Other Paper. Oh, you say you don’t know the BuRo district yet, only SoLa, SoCo and NoLa? Burnet Road is one of those areas of Austin that has kept it real old-school Austin style for quite a while with places such as The Frisco, Ginny’s Little Longhorn and the Poodle Dog Lounge. However, it’s also an area that seems destined for change as new up-scale shops and restaurants move in. Several of these high-end newcomers aren’t mentioned in the Other Paper blog, so I’m going to throw some love their way right now:
Soigne opened a little over a year ago and shortly after spun off as a men’s boutique next door called Slate. They are regulars on the Austin fashion show scene and cater to the same demographic that might be hitting up the 2nd Street District. Soigne carries some particularly awesome handbags and Slate has mens wear that is certainly fancy but not frou frou, very masculine and wearable. Also, if you’re a big fan of Austin band Ringo Deathstarr and their lovely band member Alex Gehrig, stop on in and say hi to her and her bunny rabbit who are on staff at Soigne.
Blue Star Cafeteria is a close neighbor to Soigne. Don’t let the word “cafeteria” fool you. This place is a veritable collection of Central Austin movers and shakers at lunchtime and serves delicious, healthy, fast and (let’s be honest) a little bit pricey dishes. I had an amazing walnut, apple and gorgonzola salad here that was tasty enough to warrant the price and it’s a great place for a business lunch. Try the restaurant’s $25 First Wednesday Wine Tastings.
Sadly, just about thirty days after I’m typing this the store will be gone, but Lotus Boutique is another fancy pants BuRo shop. For those ladies that are trying to reconcile their West Texas youth with their high class adult life, the store carries a really elegant collection of belt buckles. While nice, the clothes aren’t outrageously fancy and it is a very Austin-style boutique with comfortable clothing that is nice without screaming “guess how much I spent on this?!” The store is closing in late July and merchandise will be discounted by 50%.
The Pin Show is blowing out the big-haired notions commonly held about Dallas fashion and bringing up some independent designers Stitch-style. In fact, the event was co-founded by one of last year’s Stitch designers Rachel Nichelson of Madeline Wood. Taking place July 10 in the Deep Ellum music district, the show will feature 20-45 independent designers, photo shoots and clothing sales, and will fill in one of Stitch’s gaps by having retail buyers and reps on hand to discuss relationships with designers (mind you Dallas does have more of a retail industry than Austin.) The event will be hosted by F!D Luxe’s, a division of The Dallas Morning News, David Ninh.
As for the designers they have roped in for this event? Well, it’s a pretty high-calibre crew, including last year Stitch winners House of Dang. Maybe it’s just because it’s a two-man team, but these guys remind me a bit of Proenza Schouler and people are certainly recognizing their work, including Jane and Lucky Magazine . Their looks are fun and young, but totally classy, and I love the lavender, cerulean and mustard yellow shades they use. Not only are Andrew Bayer and Doug Voisin showing, they are also advisers in The Pin Show, so hopefully they will be injecting some whimsy in the red-carpet event.
Austin company Vinca will be showing their wares. Vinca is sold at Storyville, Moxie and the Compound and Parts and Labour and I always remember the company best for their leather goldfish necklaces, which you can see model’s wearing in the Rare fashion show at Mohawk last year.
I’m loving Oscar Fierro’s luxurious designs. Interestingly enough Oscar started the line to design specifically for shorter men and women, aiming to prove that they could look just a stylish as the 6 foot runway models. Since developing that philosophy the company has branched out a bit more, but still keeps the little guy in mind. The Pin Show will mark the designer’s official clothing line launch.
Through each year of the Stitch Fashion Show we have really been able to see Boudoir Queen grow and this year designer Dawn Younger-Smith really brought showmanship and design together for a stellar, sexy performance. Dawn has begun debuting her new line, 7 Layer Cake and her Fall 08 collection online. Boudoir Queen is a label with a very specific point of view, and definitely not for everybody, but whether you regard the clothes as wearable in your life or not, they are irresistible to look at. Sadly Dawn mentioned on her blog that she’s having problems with her designs being copied, which seems to be an unfortunate reality in the internet age. You can shop for Boudoir Queen goodies online at Dawn’s Etsy shop where products range from $30 to $300.
It was sporadic at first, but more and more over the past year I’ve been seeing Austinights TV’s name attached to events. The online network started as a humble public access show in 1998 and graduated to a well-loved series on the now-defunct WB network. After three seasons and more than 78 episodes the show went on an indefinite hiatus. Only recently has creator David Torres resurrected the show, and since then Austinights has been impressively busy filming segment mostly set in Austin night clubs. One of the network’s focuses has been fashion and they’re slowly building a collection of Austin fashion events…they aren’t some of the best shows I’ve seen, but worth a look if you’re passionate about Austin fashion. Keep an eye out for their cameras at upcoming events.
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Robert Rodriguez is debuting their Fall line tomorrow, Thursday, at the monthly Tribeza happy hour event. A representative from the label will be there to talk with audience members and help showcase the collection, which features sophisticated dark looks punctuated by bright pops of colors such as “sapphire,” “hyacinth” and “citrine.” The clothes are safe enough to appeal to a broad audience but very high fashion and classy. Rodriguez cut his teeth working with Christian Dior and his fans include Nicole Kidman and Scarlett Johansson. The event takes place at Valentine’s Too in Davenport Village hors d’oeuvres and drinks from 6 to 8 p.m.
Well it looks like the Mueller Development is making a positive step toward having a mix of local and chain retail. Fashionique, a new locally-owned designer jewelry and accessory store opened this month. Owner Stacy Uzuh is a costume design and theater arts grad from Texas State University and she aims at creating a global mix of accessories in the store. Believe it or not the store was a sort of college graduation present for Stacy, whose parents (who have their own interesting back story about coming to America from Nigeria) offered to help her open the shop upon graduation.
Soigne
Sadly, just about thirty days after I’m typing this the store will be gone, but 
