PARIS RUNWAY OFFICIAL
A production company you must read about... Austin Fashion Week is here to stay after 17 years of presenting

A production company you must read about... Austin Fashion Week is here to stay after 17 years of presenting

GETTING TO KNOW AUSTIN FASHION WEEK


Austin Fashion Week is a show that as we started to learn about... blew us away. Not only was it a show that has been operating and showcasing designers for the last 17 years, but it is also a show that its production value compares to those of THE BIG 4 in cities such as NYC and London.

Just yesterday, the official lineup for Austin Fashion Week was announced with over 100 designers presenting and 12 pop up shops over the course of 2 days, May 8th-10th, 2025. This tops shows such as NYC where just over 75 designers were on the official schedule and London, where 72 designers presented.

The Runway Show will include 5 major 'shows' which include shows such as a SUSTAIN Show, EMERGE Show, Black Designer Showcase, etc. at The Domain located in Austin, Texas. The Domain is a high-density office, retail, and residential center in northwest Austin, Texas. The Domain has been described as being "Austin's second downtown."

Sustainability has been a huge part of the fashion community over the last few years, with London taking the reins and introducing a sustainable fashion initiative to their Fashion Week. It looks like right in the heart of Texas, Austin Fashion Week will also add to this initiative with its very own SUSTAIN Fashion Show. 

Matt Swinney, who is the CEO Fashion X Texas and Austin Fashion Week, sat down with Fashion PR Firm to enlighten us on what exactly they offer as a production team.

INTERVIEW


Fashion PR Firm: How many years have you been presenting in Austin? When did Austin Fashion Week begin?

Matt: Austin Fashion Week began in 2009 so we’re in our 17th year of collections. We’ve also hosted Fashion X Dallas and Fashion X Houston over the years on and off.

What is Austin Fashion Week's goal for their production? Diversity? Showcasing new designers? etc. What is it you try to achieve at each Fashion Week Runway Show?

Our goal is to give designers of all backgrounds and aesthetics the opportunity to show their craft direct to consumer (and some retailers). We curate carefully, but every designer that shows has value and it’s our goal to give them an opportunity that other fashion weeks may not give them. Also, we believe our production value rivals that of any of the “major” shows in NYC, LA, Paris, etc. And we’ve been told that time and again from participants. Diversity is a huge issue for us. We’ve hosted a Black Designer Showcase for 4 years running and have had models of all types on the runway since before that became something “cool” to do. We don’t do it for “cool” factor — we do it because it’s the right thing to do and because everyone should see themselves represented on the runway.

Biggest Accomplishment to Date as a Producer & Runway Company?

I think longevity. It’s rare to have a fashion week with the same producers run as long as we have. The other has been our international partnerships. I personally have been to Mexico, Pakistan, Egypt and Australia with the sole focus of creating partnerships that help grow Texas brands in those countries and have those launch in Texas. We’ve had standout shows from designers hailing from all of those countries in Austin over the years.

What makes Austin stand out compared to other shows nationwide?

Again, production value. Longevity. Openness to cast brands that aren’t going to sell a lot of tickets. We don’t look at number of IG followers to determine if a brand is worthy to show on the runway. It just doesn’t come into play. 

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Learning about Austin Fashion Week was one that we can honestly say was a surprise. Typically, you do not see this type of longevity in the fashion industry, relationships, etc. but after learning about Matt and everything he stands for in the fashion industry... we can see why success has followed. As what matters to him is the people, the designers, their craft, their talent, their art, etc. He is searching for authenticity - something with value that has no number on it. 

To purchase tickets to Austin Fashion Week and see for yourself why we loved learning about this show, please visit: 


To follow Austin Fashion Week on Instagram, please visit them at:


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