Behold, ATX, for our own Texified version of Fashion Week is upon us! NOIR and ENCORE, held at Brazos Hall, were the kickoff events for Austin Fashion Week, and it was a fete befitting Austin in more ways than one. As I approached the entrance to the venue, highly stylized greeters were more than happy to direct attendees straight to the “Open bar!”, which guests frequented throughout the evening. (Austin likes its booze. This, we’ve established.)

Fun frocks and high heels.

 This pair was just adorable.

Loved the contrast of this clutch against the black dress.
Its owner proudly proclaimed, “It’s made from old kimonos!” Repurposing done right.

Back drama.

Love the tats peeking out.

This vintage number was perfection coming…

As for me, I pulled a classic ‘high/low’ combo, pairing my Alexander Wang bag and new Lucchese boots with a $17 dress I bought at Target four years ago. Likeaboss.

Other folks were not so compliant with the ‘all black, please’ request, like this chick:

 and this dude:

Conscientious objectors? Did they just not get the memo? I didn’t have the cajones to ask. Once the show started, things kicked into high gear and the booze kept flowing.

 

Aside from the obvious draw of a cool show, I love these events because I always meet some amazing, creative people. Good fortune had me standing at a table sipping wine next to Adrienne Yunger, the designer for one of the looks debuted in the second half of the runway show. She designed her own dress for the night as well, and both the runway and her own look were completely stunning.