Matt Swinney grew Austin's fashion scene one Fashion X at a time Page: 4 of 7
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Swinney, however, is an eternal optimist. "He's one of those guys who has superpowers that he's
not aware of," says Lance Avery Morgan, editor of the Society Diaries who was running Brilliant
magazine when Swinney was running Rare. "He's enthusiastic. He brings it to the runway. He
brings it to the designer, to the vendors, who want to be attached to his brand."
As the first event happened, the boutique owners got behind Austin Fashion Week. "No one had
taken an interest in them before," Tatton says. ... "They showed up and their friends showed up."
As did some people really interested in high fashion.
Swinney says he made an effort to spend the money he needed to make it look good, like there
was a big budget. He didn't want to be like other failed fashion weeks in other towns. That scenario
plays out like this, Swinney says: A couple of creative friends get together and decide to create a
fashion week with local designers. They try to attract sponsorship and maybe a few local
businesses give them $1,000. Now they create a first-year event that doesn't have the money
behind it. The next year, the sponsors don't want to invest again in something that doesn't look
right, Swinney says. "They can't figure out how to make money," he says.
Tatton says Swinney was always focused on the business model - not just how to make the event
successful, but how to earn money for the business, too. "I didn't invest in Austin Fashion Week,"
Tatton says. "I invested in Matt Swinney. He has some of the most dogged determination of
anybody I've ever met."
It hasn't always been rosy. "I'm not sure I knew what I was getting into," Swinney says.
There was the year it rained inside La Zona Rosa and one of the crew members had to wipe down
the stage after each time the photographers got their shots so that the models in 6-inch heels
wouldn't slip and slide. And there was the show in which one of the designers didn't have half of
their models walk the runway. Or the show in which the lights went out for about 20 seconds and
the model stood frozen on stage, not sure what to do.
The early critics reminded Swinney that he had called it Austin Fashion Week and with that came
the responsibility to represent the town well and do it right. "It always stuck with me," he says. "I
take it very seriously."
Not every idea worked, either. "There were a lot of events we tried that didn't move the needle,"
Tatton says, but those that did remained. Three years in, Tatton was able to sell his portion and
move to California to work for Apple. By then, Swinney had other investors.
It's a business model that relies heavily on sponsorships as well as ticket sales and designers
"paying to play," which is common practice. "I'm running a business, not a nonprofit," Swinney
says. "If you want to be a successful fashion designer, you're going to have expenses to market
your product."
Designers pay about $2,500 to participate in a runway show and about $400 to be part of the
boutique. For that, they get models, production, marketing and hair and makeup. He estimates it'sabout one-tenth of what they would pay to do a small show in New York.
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Villalpando, Nicole. Matt Swinney grew Austin's fashion scene one Fashion X at a time, article, September 23, 2018; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc1983212/m1/4/: accessed May 30, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Special Collections.