“How Matt Swinney Built Austin Fashion Week — The Grit, Grind & Truth Behind Texas Fashion”

SPEAKER_01 0:00

Hello everybody, this is Calicat Tap Talks, and I got Matt Sweeney here. You guys don't know him today. You will. And he is a fashion genius, I'm gonna say. That's a lot to live up to. You turned a bit red, but he's out of Texas right now, but uh he used to live here in Palo Alto. So go ahead, Matt. Tell your journey and how you became so famous and what you're doing right now.

SPEAKER_00 0:31

That is a lot, Callie. That's a lot to live up to. Uh yeah, so I I'm I'm a Texas kid at heart. I live in Austin, um, and I've been here pretty much my entire life. Yeah, I was in I was in the Bay Area for a year in there. We were just talking about the uh beautiful weather of the Bay Area. I do miss that. Uh no, my uh my fashion journey. So I actually don't consider myself a fashion person. I started Austin Fashion Week in 2009, so we're going into our 19th year of production, uh, which probably makes it, you know, one of the longest running fashion weeks in the country. And, you know, we really just started it as something for the local industry. Like, you know, this was again, you know, coming out of like bad recession 2007, 2008, uh retailers were hurting. We were really trying to find something where, you know, boutiques and designers could come together. And that's really how it started. Um, and then and I had no fashion background. I had actually published a magazine prior to that, and I'd started Restaurant Week here in Austin. So I knew kind of big promotional events. Um, but I didn't, I wasn't a fashion guy by any stretch of the imagination. And I think that actually helped. Uh, you know, a lot of fashion weeks are started by designers, and uh, it just takes two different sides of your brain, right, to run a business that's a fashion week versus be a designer. And it doesn't mean that designers can't do it or that I couldn't design, but it's not our strength, right? So for me, I came at it from a much more just sort of entrepreneurial perspective. Um, and you know, how can you kind of create this sustainable uh long-term event where um specifically designers, but also everyone else that's subsidiary to the industry, you know, models, hairstylists, makeup artists, ordered stylists, people like that, that everyone could have uh, you know, a space where I always say it's uh where we could just hug them, meaning like pull them all into one big giant hug and it not be all these disparate communities. Um, that's really what the goal was was just kind of pull everyone into the same space. Um, and a series of events could do that. And then, you know, over time it just grew and grew and grew. And, you know, now we're we I should call it Austin Fashion Three Day because we actually um we don't do a full week of events. We kind of do four-ish days of events, um, but we stack a bunch of shows on top of each other, and now it's kind of 80-ish designers each season. We do it twice a year. Um, it now runs as a nonprofit, which is not something that it has been in the past. Um, and it's really just meant to kind of um take the Austin and beyond fashion community into sort of whatever the next step of their careers would be.

SPEAKER_01 3:11

Yeah, but um I did some quick research, yeah, and what I found out they compare you to what London, Paris, New York, and someone else. Yeah, so that's pretty that's pretty big. That's that's pretty big. Look at my eye, that's pretty big.

SPEAKER_00 3:24

Yeah, no, it it it is big, and I don't I don't want to discount it at all. You know, but those I think I think I think the way to look at it is those big giant ones, you know, London, Miami, New York, uh, Paris, those, they have such a focus on um giant brands. The reality is is to go show in Paris, you know, you're gonna start at a production fee of you know a hundred thousand dollars or something like that, right? And that that's on the low end. I really came at this from a how can you produce a runway show that has the same qualities uh from a production standpoint as a Paris Fashion Week or New York or whatever, um, but at a price point that an emerging designer can can swallow. Um, that's really, I think, where we have found our sweet spot. Um, I've heard some people say, like, we're the we're the minor leagues, we're the triple A of fashion weeks. Um, I don't like to look at it like that because I just think we're different. I think it's an opportunity for um, you know, really great young, and I don't mean young necessarily by age, but young in their career um designers and brands um to get that first jumping off point. And then from there, if they choose to go spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to go show in, you know, New York or Paris or London or whatever, then then great. Um, but you know, it's just not reality for most people in the industry, right? I mean, the the ones who show at those kinds of um fashion weeks, I mean, that's literally like the one percent um in the fashion world. And so we're just trying to give an opportunity to the other 99%.

SPEAKER_01 5:06

Yeah, I understand that. So who was Matt Sweeney before fashion?

SPEAKER_00 5:12

Who were you? You know, I'm uh it's it's funny. I um I've always been interested in what's next. Um, I've never really been good at living in the present. Um, I think Fashion Week maybe got me there a little bit more. Um so I uh I grew up in Austin. Um I'm one of the few natives, you know. If if if people who are listening, you know, spent much time in Austin, it literally, you know, when I was born, so I turned 50 last year. Um when I was born, thank you. When I was born um in Austin, there were like, you know, 400,000 people or something here. And you know, 50 years later, it's 3 million, 2.5 million, something like that. So just kind of exploding growth. And so I've just seen a city, you know, that was kind of a small college town, you know, government-centric in Texas, you know, kind of a uh a blue bastion amongst a red state sort of an i idea. Um, you know, hippie town, you know, meets honky tonks sort of a thing. And I've just seen it explode into this new thing um that's both good and bad. Uh there's there's actually, you're in San Francisco, you know exact, you know exactly what I'm talking about. It's a very, very similar story. Um, and so I think, you know, I've always loved the entrepreneurial spirit of Austin. I think where I'm from, you know, has really instilled that in me and built that in me. Uh my dad probably built that in me. He was a guy who um he still he still is. Um, but but you know, in his career, he was a guy who liked to build things and then move on from them um and let somebody else take him over. Uh and I'm kind of that way too. It uh fashion week is the longest thing I've ever done um and stayed with it that entire time. Um, but even now, like I I I run other little businesses, you know, in addition to Fashion Week. Um, you know, from a family perspective, I uh I'm I I married my high school sweetheart. Uh we've literally known each other since we were 12.

SPEAKER_01 7:15

Wow.

SPEAKER_00 7:16

So we're yeah, we're circus freaks at high school reunions and things like that. So we started dating when we were 15 and got married when we were 24. Um, you know, she's she's my rock. She's the person that like has seen it all and been through everything. And when you've known somebody for that long, like it just keeps a grounding, I think. Uh like there's nothing that you don't know about each other because you've literally known each other since you were kids. And so I think, you know, she's the one who's kind of helped keep that journey and that path, you know, somewhat going um in my crazy brain um of not going too far off on tangents. Uh, she's a much more practical uh person than I am, and so our yin and yang is really good. Uh we have two kids. Uh our daughter is a freshman at Vassar College in uh Poughkeepsie, so uh just north of New York City and is loving it there. And our son is a uh high school student here in Austin, baseball player, we're a big baseball family. That's what I do on the side. I I coach a lot of baseball, even high school level kids. Not usually uh what goes together. Baseball and fashion are not uh typically uh career paths that uh merge very often. So I don't know. I'm uh probably jack of all trades, master of none.

SPEAKER_01 8:33

Okay, so was there a specific risk or a a leap of faith that changed everything for you?

SPEAKER_00 8:39

You know, I owned I think it was coming into the fashion week business. We uh so I owned a ma I owned a magazine. So from 2004 to uh early 2009, I owned a magazine, it's called Rare Magazine here in Austin. Fossy slit kind of art publication. Um and I loved the marketing side, I loved the um promotions and the events that went with that, and um, you know, just dealing with local business owners. Like I loved, you know, getting to meet, you know, owner of new coffee shop or whatever and talk to them and interview them. So had a little bit of a kind of journalism background with that. Um and when 2008 hit, actually, I guess 2007, we started, I I'd said we started restaurant week. So I really, really started to enjoy that kind of big event promotion side, partnering with nonprofits. You know, what does that look like? You know, how can we drive business to um restaurants in a slow time, all that kind of stuff. And uh when 2008 hit, publishing a magazine was no fun anymore. Um, they're just all the ad dollars dried up. A lot of our uh client base was going out of business. Um, it was just not a great time to be doing it. In early 2009, my business partner at the time uh offered to buy me out of it. He wanted uh he wanted to keep doing it. I was kind of done. I thought we should hold hands and walk out the door together. Um, he had other ideas and uh he ended up buying me out. And I think that that was the leap of faith of it wasn't enough money to to do much with. Um, but all of a sudden I was unemployed and I'd owned businesses since I was 24. Um, like I hadn't worked for a boss in, you know, since since that age. And I just didn't know even how to have a boss. And a buddy of mine came to me at that time and he was in the music business uh here in Austin. He owned a record label and managed some bands. And he said, you know, I I like what you did with Restaurant Week. You know, would you think about uh creating an events company? Um, like what if we did some music stuff together and this, that, and the other? And I was like, sure, let's let's give it a run. And he he put up a little bit of seed money. Um, and that was probably the biggest risk, right? Was the I didn't have a salary. Like I was, you know, we had a young child on, you know, a first baby on the way. Um, or I guess she was born at that point, so she was about a year old at that point, um, you know, and no guaranteed salary and you know, not enough money from the buyout to really, you know, last more than a few months. And um we just Stephen Tatten, uh, my partner and I at the time, he just, you know, he had a lot of faith and I had a lot of faith. And, you know, we were literally just, you know, one night over probably too many tequila shots, like started throwing stuff on the wall. You know, what are some event ideas? And it was everything from music to art to um fashion to uh home tours to all kinds of stuff. And um Austin Fashion Week was the one that we just kept kind of coming back to. Like, what does that look like? Like, what could that like what are the revenue streams? What is that, you know, and so we really did come at it from this like entrepreneurial business side of how can you make an event make money from a community that typically doesn't have a lot of money? Like, is there is there a way to do it? And um, and it took a couple years, but by that third year, we had turned a corner and really figured it out and you know started to get some even national press and things like that. But you just have to, I tell people all the time that are thinking about starting a business, I'm like, you you have to have that bone in your body. And if you don't have that bone, that's okay. Like, there's nothing wrong with that. But like a lot of people are really comfortable um having a boss sitting behind a desk, you know, working eight to five or eight to six or even 12 hours a day or whatever, and they work really hard and they climb a ladder and they do all of that. And there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. Um, for me, that's just not a life that um I wanted. I wanted to be able to go on vacation whenever I wanted to. I wanted to be able to just not show up to work one day if I didn't want to, you know, I didn't want to ever have to kind of answer to anybody other than other than my wife. So yeah, I think I think that was the big leap of faith, though, was going into that business. Yeah, I mean, going into a business that I really had no business going into, to be honest. I mean, I didn't know anything about it, and we just we just figured it out as we went. And I think I think the success comes from listening. Um, that's the other thing I tell entrepreneurs all the time is you have to you have to listen, um, probably more than you talk, which is probably hard to believe from me because I just tend to, you know, you ask me one question, I'll go for a while. But but when it comes to um our customers and things like that, like I I know how to shut up and I know how to listen and I hear them. And I think really early on, that was really what I tried to do was, you know, there were there were some old guard fashion people in Austin and they looked at me like, Who are you? Like, you don't know anything about the fashion business. And what I just tried to tell them was I don't need to know anything about the fashion business. That's your job. Your job is to to point me in the right direction. My job is to make the production look right, to figure out how to make it sustainable. Your job is to make the clothing on the runway, you know, come to life. My job is to sit back and watch you do that. Um, and so I think we really created this like symbiotic uh thing. And it and it took a few years for that old guard group to to to embrace me and what I was doing. But once we got there and I proved to them like this is really about you, um they they they finally bought in. I, you know, I I slowly slowly reeled them in.

SPEAKER_01 14:31

So so the question and uh and what you're what you're telling me right now, why Austin? Why why fashion in Austin? I I know you say you grew up there, why not in New York or London or Paris or even here in San Francisco? Why Austin?

SPEAKER_00 14:47

Yeah. I mean Austin's home. Um, you know, it's where it's where I felt most comfortable, it's where I had connections, it's where I knew everybody. So I mean that that's number one. Also, who wants to go do fashion in New York? It's already been done like a million times, right? Like, I mean, what's funny is is New York Fashion Week over the years has gone through so many different iterations and changes, and um, you know, it's always good, it always has kind of its its place, but you know, it's this sort of disparate set of events, and you know, for me, it's about building community. And um, New York just seemed impossible to do that. Um, you know, same with Paris, London, whatever. San Francisco probably would have been an easier place to do that um because it has it doesn't have that sort of fashion history. Um, it has more fashion history than Austin did at the time. Um, now I don't know if that's true anymore or not. I don't know. Um, but I think Austin was one of those places that um, you know, it has a brand name, right? Nationally, right? It has South by Southwest, it has ACLFS, it has all of that, it has a University of Texas. Um, it's got a cool factor, much like San Francisco, that's associated with it, even from people who have never been here. Um, and so I think I knew that. And so I knew that like from a from a big picture perspective, the brand that was Austin would be valuable to others from the outside. But I also knew that it had this like super welcoming community who was going to be open and entrepreneurial and understanding of um you know this project and trying to do something and giving us time to build it and all of those things, which I do think is super unique to Austin. And if you talk to entrepreneurs here, like you're you're in the Bay Area, so like even if you talk to like tech entrepreneurs, um, tech people in the Bay Area, it is cutthroat. And no one is out for each other. They are they are who can get the best deal, who can find the next you know, billion-dollar company, whatever. In Austin, even with our tech culture here, it's just not like that. It is a let's go grab a coffee and trade ideas and um see how we can help each other. And and I I just really like that. I'm a I'm a collaborative person, I don't I don't feel the need to compete with anybody.

SPEAKER_01 17:03

Yeah, just collaborating. So so how do you build a designing community? What is the secrets?

SPEAKER_00 17:11

Oh, I wish I knew the secret sauce. Like, I mean, we've we've tried everything, right? And so I think it was I mean, the first word that comes to mind is authenticity, but like you have to be able to go out there and say this isn't about I I mean, I'm I'm realistic in knowing that like by owning a fashion week, um, that's a sexy gig, right? Like I get it. Um but I am not the kind of person who is like seeking attention. Um I know it's gonna come because of my role, but I think where it worked with the fashion designer community in particular is they saw that my only goal was to build this thing big enough so that it benefited them. It's not about benefiting me. If I get some of that, great, but like that's not the goal. Um and like I we were talking about doing some TV interviews and things like that. And you know, every single time like I get asked to do the interview, and I always bring, you know, a designer with me or models with me or both or whatever. And I like I like to let them talk the most, right? It's not about um I'm a good organizer, I'm good at putting people together. Um, but at the end of the day, I'm not the one making the art form that's on the runway, right? Like I get it, I I tell people all the time I get a lot of credit for a lot of other people's work. Um, and I'm very, very aware of that. And I'm I'm I'm I I guess I'm willing to admit that, which probably adds to the authenticity. I can I can only be me. And um I I guess I tell people all the time that that, right? Of like, if there's ever a time when I act, you know, too big for my britches or whatever, like feel free to kick me in the ass. It's okay. Like and I think that's what helps build the community, right?

SPEAKER_01 19:02

Yeah. So what does it take behind the scenes to pull this off? To get everybody together and to have them walk, is it a walk down the strip, right? Of uh fastening? Yeah. What is it what does it take to pull it off?

SPEAKER_00 19:15

A lot. We have a tiny team too. All of the time people are like, your team must be huge to be able to do this. I'm like, actually it's not. Like, I mean, our team is like four people. Um, now four people plus a whole lot of people who kind of show up for events and you know are um you know, subsidiary and secondary and um, you know, and do you know yeoman's work out there like cleaning up trash and things like that, right? So I don't want to discount that at all. But, you know, it really requires um even now, right, when we have databases full of people and we know who's gonna come in and you know the sales part is a lot easier than it used to be. You know, the reality is is you still gotta put 80 designers together. And um, I can joke and say this because designers know I love them, but like you put 80 fashion designers in a room together, and like, I mean, that's probably a reality show, right? Like, I mean, it is a bunch of artists in one spot together, and none of them agree on anything, and they all think that you know, their way is the right way, and by the way, I think my way is the right way too. And so it it creates a level of chaos. And I think what we have tried to build and why it works is um want a really consistent team, you know, my front-of-house person, my back-of-house person, like Claire Saudonia does our back of house, and Claire literally manages, you know, whatever it is, 70 or 80 models and 80 designers or something, and you know, not only gets the timing right of when to send a model, but also just manages all of those personalities. And I just think um, you know, she brings this like calmness and this presence that is like, you know, Mama Claire a little bit. Um, but also Mama Claire can slap you on the you know on the backside if you're if you don't like I think that's what we try to show is that like this is we're all in this together. And for this show to be pulled off with these eight designers in one show and you know, 75 or 80 models in one show, and hair and makeup teams and everything else, like we've all got to be rowing the boat in the same direction. And I think that's what our entire team is really good at. Um, we literally, you know, the fashion industry is um talk about a cutthroat industry that it is one. And we try very, very hard to make Austin not feel like that. Um, like we literally, when a designer signs their contracts, they literally uh sign off on a bullet point that says that they will treat the entire team and models and everybody else with respect. And that we're gonna use kind, kind indoor voices all the time, even when it's chaotic, you know, we're gonna we're gonna what's the what's the saying? Attract more uh sugar with honey or what what's the saying? I'm I'm losing it. But you know what I mean. But you you know you know what I mean. Yeah, yeah. And and I I think I think it's just that. Like coming from an authentic place of kindness really is what drives it and making it work.

SPEAKER_01 22:10

All right. For a person in the audience right now that wants to start a fashion business, what's what's step one?

SPEAKER_00 22:16

I guess it depends on what side of the industry you're thinking about. Like if you if you want to go start a fashion week, I would tell you don't. Um coming from somebody who's done it um and struggled through it and made it work and uh and then had COVID, you know, and you know, where we couldn't have live events for 18 months or whatever it was, uh, you know, it just it's a lot and not frankly a ton to gain out of it, especially financially. Um there's a ton to gain from the kind of like, you know, legacy I know I'll leave behind, and you know, this community we built and all that. That's definitely true. Um, but but people all the time are like, well, why couldn't I just go do this on my own? I'm like, go for it. Have fun. I'll see you in a year when you still haven't done it. Like, because just saying you can do it and actually doing it are two different things. Um, from a fashion designer perspective, you know, I think the first thing you have to be is really honest with yourself of how how talented really am I? And do I have any clue about like just because my mom and six friends love what I make for them does not mean that the general public who you now need to go sell something to is going to think the same thing. Um, and you just have to be, it's a it's just a cold hard truth, right? Like, there's a million options for clothing out there. So, what do you bring to the table that is any different than what somebody else is already doing out there? And can you do it at an affordable price point? You can turn it around and deliver it on time. You know, it's all those things, right? And um, I'm not saying you shouldn't do it. You definitely should if that's your passion, but just know what you're walking into as you do it and know what you want out of it. Um, I talk to designers all the time and I ask them, like, what's your goal? And most of them start out with the, or at least used to, not so much anymore. They used to start out with the like, well, I want to my dream is to sell it Neiman Marcus or Nordstrom or whatever. And I'm like, okay, well, that's gonna take millions of dollars for that to happen. And here's why, right? And I'll and I and I'll give them that. And I'm like, is that really what you want? And you know, they usually think about that. And most designers are like, actually, I just want to make a living being a fashion designer. I'm like, okay, that's a different answer, right? So now, like, direct to consumer 2009, direct to consumer was not a thing when we started Fashion Week. Now it is, it's literally everything. So, like, you can go have an Etsy store, you can have your own online presence, you can sell on Instagram, you can do all of that. We actually did a deal with um Australian designers. So, Adelaide Australia is a sister city with Austin, and I got asked by the sister cities committee here to talk with the Adelaide Fashion Festival, and they invited me to come. And I went down there and I'm meeting with all the Australian designers, it's amazing, and they all sell. This was 2018 or 19, before COVID, and they they all sold on Instagram, they like didn't have a website, and like, what it what is what is this? What is this selling on Instagram thing? Like, that was not a thing in the US in 2018, 2019, and that was literally their entire business. And I remember coming back and talking to fashion designers here, and I would like show them. I'm like, look at what they're doing. And most designers were like, wait a minute, that's a thing. And it just like it has changed so much over time that now the concept of you know Callie connecting directly, X, Y, Z person, you know, who could be her customer is just a totally different thing than it ever was for Eons, right? Um, it had to you had to be something, right? You had to have you had a buy ad space on television or in the newspaper or whatever, right? Whatever antiquated, you know, idea. And now you can do all that on your own and most of the time for free. And um, I think that's what I talk with designers about is like, what do you what do you want to be? Like, where do you want this to take you? And most of the time now is is I just don't want to wait tables anymore. I just want to do this and it be my career, and I make enough money to to make my life happy. That's all I care about. And that's a much easier thing to to manage and deal with. And then I can kind of help them down that road. Um or send them to people who can help them down that road.

SPEAKER_01 26:53

Yeah. So what was one well not one mistake? I'm pretty sure there's several mistakes that that you actually it actually helped you grow.

SPEAKER_00 27:03

I think the biggest mistake we made um early on that I can think about is we didn't have any money. And so we would cut corners everywhere we could, but still make the production look right. Um the biggest mistake we made early on was that we didn't pay models. And there were a couple reasons for it. Like one, we just didn't have the budget, but more importantly, models were willing to walk for free. And I was willing to take advantage of that. Um we we needed the money, like we, you know, like hey, that's a place where we can save. And over time, what you know, and then models would come to me like, hey, is there a chance that like we can get paid or whatever? And you know, the the the the true answer, the like cutthroat business guy answer is is like no. I mean, like I I kid you not, Callie, when I say that this this season we had 1200 applications for 50 spots or something. Like I could literally yeah, I mean, we can we could we could we could book this thing out with models, free models all the time. You have to make a choice somewhere along the way of are you trying to build the most profitable business you can create, which would mean don't don't pay models, or are you trying to build a community of an industry that can, you know, kind of live on its own and build itself and and also just do the right thing, right? Um, and and and I chose the latter at some point and realized like these models are here for how many hours, you know, on a on a on a given Saturday to do a show or whatever, and they're you know probably getting barked at by designers periodically because everybody's in a high stress situation or whatever. Um, that was when we added the clause about everybody's gonna be nice to each other into a contract. Um and and so the mistake was not paying them, and then one of the greatest things we did was to start to pay them because I can honestly say that you know, we're probably the only series of runway shows in Austin that pays its models. And now, and we're actually increasing that budget every single year, you know, we're trying to pay them more and more each time. Um, you know, we solve budget constraints just like everybody else. Um, but you know, that to me, I think it just signified a switch in how we got perceived by the industry of like, are you really doing this? You know, if you're not gonna pay models, like that was just like a little microcosm of um, you know, if you're not gonna pay uh pay this group, then you know, are you really being authentic in building this industry that you say you want to build? And I think the mistake was not doing it, and then the the correction I think was actually what you know kind of helped us skyrocket into the next level. It just was us putting our proof where the pudding was, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 30:05

Yeah, when you're building a community, the community takes care of the people that's in that community. And when people are looking inside, they wanna they wanna hop into the community.

unknown 30:15

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 30:15

So yes, I I agree. So how important is it for creativity to stay authentic versus following the trend?

SPEAKER_00 30:25

I think authenticity is everything. Um that doesn't mean that being your authentic self doesn't also follow trends, right? Both can be true at the same time. Um but I think it's important for, especially as a fashion designer, like you've got to be you first and foremost. Like there's no like a good example is you know, streetwear, um, you know, we we're kind of using that as a term, but like really it's it it is clothing that came from a primarily African-American culture, right? That became a more mainstream um thing. I mean, I'm wearing a Travis Scott hoodie, I'm a 50-year-old white man. Like, so it became mainstream. And I guess an example I would give is if you're a designer who creates, you know, ready-to-wear, you know, women's athleisure, um, maybe athleisure is a bad idea because athleisure pushes into streetwear a lot. But um, you know, if you're if you're a brand who's creating, you know, Lily Pulitzer preppy Florida style, and then all of a sudden, you know, the trend is, you know, Travis Scott hoodies, then you shouldn't switch to that trend, right? That's just not you. And that's that's where I see designers make mistakes is trying to follow a trend. Like if you are authentically you, uh, that will sell. If you try to do something that you're that isn't you, then your customer's gonna see that every single time, right? They can just feel it. Um, and and you're constantly reinventing yourself, right? And because eventually it's gonna come back to you know, Florida Preppy, right? So, you know, and and that customer is never gonna leave. There, you know, your customer is never going to just automatically switch over to, you know, rap culture streetwear if they were interested in your brand to begin with. And so to me, you can have hints of a trend, um, or you can just totally shun it, and that's okay too. But I think being your authentic self is has to be the key to everything.

SPEAKER_01 32:33

Yeah, that that's true. That's true. Social media plays a major role. You know, a lot of people look and say, ooh, I really like that, but if I add a little bit of this and that, and then like you say, they start to sell stuff on on social media. So so where do you see us in Fashion Week in five years?

SPEAKER_00 32:52

So I I alluded to it. Um, so we switched from a nonprofit to a I mean from a for-profit to a nonprofit just this like six months ago. Um, and the reason for it was um, you know, again, with my age, like there will come a time when I don't want to do this anymore. And um, I actually announced a couple years ago that I was gonna try to start stepping away and thought that I would sell the company, um, but ran into just not finding a buyer that I thought was going to um continue what we had built. And I thought that was important. Like we built this community that was now relying on it, and you we keep using this word authenticity, but like I felt it very inauthentic then for me to go sell it to somebody who was going to change it dramatically. Um, and by the way, that's their that's their prerogative, that's their choice to be able to do that if they're buying it. And I just was having a really hard time letting it go, not because I wasn't willing to let it go, but because I worried about um the community we'd built and would they get left out in the cold. And so it took it took a couple years for me to to get there, but ultimately decided if we change it over to a nonprofit, which by the way, the only person that hurts is me. Um if we change it to a nonprofit, it means I can have a board, I can step away at some point in the future, which is probably not anytime soon. I kind of got rejuvenated by moving it to a nonprofit. Um, you know, switch it to, and then and then when it's time to hire in somebody to replace me at some point in the future, whether that's five years from now or 20 years from now, um, you know, there's a board that can help kind of steward that process. It also means that if I get hit by a bus tomorrow, um, you know, there's a board now that there's a board now that that I mean, hopefully not, but like, you know, there there has to be some kind of succession plan, right? And otherwise it just it just dies on the vine. And a board helps with that, right? Like now we now we have a group of people who is just as invested as I am, um, you know, who really want to see this thing grow and thrive and do all of that. You know, I think that switch over to a nonprofit gives us opportunities, you know, five years from now, where um, you know, raising money as a nonprofit is a very different thing and much, much easier in a lot of ways. And so in doing so, you know, that means we can go get grant dollars that then we can turn around and grant out, right? So I have this sort of vision of if if the net if if we've built this community to this point, you know, is the next step like really taking that youngest designer or youngest model or whatever it is, whatever she is, and you know, help her take the next step. So I I kind of envision, you know, a world where, you know, a model says, I need new headshots. Um, and so I can get a photographer to do it for free, you know, because they will, but like again, that's not the goal. Instead, I would rather them come to us and say, hey, I'm applying for a grant that's you know, a$1,000 grant, you know, micro grant or micro loan, even um, to be able to get headshots so that I can move on to this next phase with this agency, but I want to pay the photographer and hairstylist and makeup artist to do that, and it's gonna cost a thousand dollars. I would rather say, well, we have now raised that money in order to be able to hand that$1,000 to you so that you can keep the engine of that industry moving. Or designer X, you know, their serger breaks and it's$3,000 and they say, I I can afford it, I just can't afford it right now. Like, can I get a micro loan for$3,000? I'll pay it back at$100 a month, you know, zero interest or whatever. Or can I just apply for a grant to get the$3,000 to get a new serger? Yes, right. Like that's where I see it. Like that we can really build that next piece out that um moves dollars around in a better way.

SPEAKER_01 36:47

You ever thought about internships? Because right now there's a lot of students out there really struggling just to get their foot in a door. What about internships or nonprofit? I don't know if you do um scholarships.

SPEAKER_00 37:02

Yeah, so we have uh we actually have a great uh group of interns right now. So we usually keep three or four at a time. Uh they're primarily social media graphics, that kind of thing is where our interns come from. Uh at some point I would love to have paid interns. Uh my daughter going through this process as a young college student, um, you know, trying to find paid internships in her field has been super tricky. And um, I think we're um, you know, right now they're unpaid here, but I would love for them to be paid because I again I just think it's the right thing to do. It's utilizing labor. Um, and sometimes these I'm gonna call them kids, uh, you know, these college students, mostly sometimes even high school students, are super smart. And so, like, you know, they can do things, especially with social media. I'm again, I'm a 50-year-old white dude. Like, what do I know about social media? I mean, not much. Like, I would rather, much rather have, I mean, I shouldn't be running our TikTok, right? Like, I mean, that is not the goal here. Um, and so I don't. Um, so I don't. Instead, I hire 20-year-olds to do that because they're really, really good at it. And so, you know, they have a skill set that I don't have. And so they should be compensated for that, right? Um, now we've got to be able to get there to do that. But um, yes, I think I think internships is a thing. Um, we do do some scholarships now, but they're all internal scholarships. So, like, for instance, we work at the Austin Area Urban League. Uh, they do they do about$5,000 a year in scholarship dollars for black designers specifically. Uh, we do a black designer showcase at each show uh or at each fashion week. Um, and those are designers who are coming in who are building a collection and it helps offset their participation fees for Fashion Week. So it's not like dollars were handing them. Um, in the future, though, yes, I think education scholarships, like as we can raise more money to be able to help a designer go, you know, to be part of an incubator or whatever, right? Whatever that may be. But yeah, I think I think that's definitely part of the future.

SPEAKER_01 39:02

Wow. What about designer? Um, you already have a model, already making money, and then that person like um big boy, little girl club or something like that, where they take a person under their wing and show them the rope.

SPEAKER_00 39:16

Sure.

SPEAKER_01 39:16

I mean, that's another that's another idea.

unknown 39:19

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 39:20

So are there any expansions or collaborations or surprises coming that we need to be watching for?

SPEAKER_00 39:28

So, you know, what I haven't talked about is that prior to COVID, we actually had expanded. We were doing Dallas and Houston as well. And um, you know, once COVID hit, everything, you know, obviously shut down. And when we came back, I really just decided to like really emphasize Austin and grow Austin in a unique way. And so, yeah, I mean, I think when we talk about expansions, like again, moving to a nonprofit, like we're gonna do a gala in the fall for the first time as a fundraising opportunity. Um, we are playing with the idea of an industry conference. So think South by Southwest, but for the fashion industry, those do exist around the country, um, but they're all fairly small, everything that I've found around it. And so I'd really like to find something that we could blow up and make Austin, you know, kind of the central hub for the fashion industry coming together, um, you know, for educational purposes, vending, whatever the case may be. Um, you know, where those have worked in the past has been more like market, where a where retailers show up to buy to to review uh new designer collections and that kind of thing. And that's great, but it only establishes one little small segment of the business. Um, a conference, I think, has the ability to really educate, um, to take, I guess, knowledge from um, you know, experts in their field, people who've been around a long time, and pass that down to the next generation. And that's the thing that I think has been missing. Um, and I think we're well positioned to be able to do something like that, but that is a big undertaking. Um, so I could see us doing something, I don't know if it's gonna happen this year, but you know, next year something where we could um even do one or two days and then you just kind of slowly expand that out.

SPEAKER_01 41:17

I see, I see. So, what drives you personally? What keeps you going on the hard day?

SPEAKER_00 41:23

Ooh, um that's a good question. You know, I think I go back to that community word, you know, at least professionally what drives me. Um, you know, personally what drives me is my family. Like that that's everything. Um, and I would give up all of this, you know, for them. Um but professionally, what drives me, I I do think it comes back to that that community word. I think that, you know, what we've just been able to build, like I always joke like I hate people. You know, we always say that, like, oh, people are so obnoxious and annoying. With what we've built and been in the fashion business here in Austin, like I've literally now we've done it so long that like I've got models that have that started modeling with us when they were 16 and now they're, you know, 26 or 30 even, right? And maybe still modeling a little bit, but also like have gone on to create these amazing careers, and you know, either in fashion or outside of fashion, right? And I think that's what drives me more than anything is sort of like you know, that group of people that you just know in your heart of hearts that they wouldn't be where they are without like you being part of it. And um, and I don't mean to like take credit for that, I mean like just to have been a piece of it, right? Of of watching their success. Um I think that's what drives me is just like knowing that like I don't know who it's gonna be, right, this season, but like somebody is going to stand out and I'm gonna do everything I can to help them, you know, take whatever that next leap is for whatever reason.

SPEAKER_01 43:02

Yeah, to flourish.

SPEAKER_00 43:04

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 43:05

So what's something people would be surprised to learn about you?

SPEAKER_00 43:12

Um so the funny uh one of the funny second businesses I do, I own a sports card and memorabilia shop.

SPEAKER_01 43:20

No, you don't get it out. I do, you enjoy me. Look at my own like see, like I kid you not, like the um also like Legos, but oh wow, you're yeah, I see all the uh baseball baseballs up there.

SPEAKER_00 43:37

Yeah, so funny enough, we started like this little sports card business. So I collected baseball cards when I was a little kid, and uh during uh COVID, my kids were let's see, 2020. So they were like uh what were they eighth grade and fifth grade, eighth grade and fourth grade. And um, you know, I just started like, you know, there's like YouTube videos of like people opening packs and things like that. That and I started watching some of those, just you know, like bored, whatever. And the kids started watching them with me, and I was like, we could do this, like, this could be kind of fun. Like, we're all just sitting around doing nothing, and it was all online. Um, and so we just started doing like these like card break videos for fun more than anything, and then it turned into this little business, and now it actually pays some bills, and so I keep doing it. Um, and so like I have like a whole like setup in here, like for YouTube videos, and we have a Facebook group that has like three or four thousand people in it, and um, you know, so I sell a fair amount of like a pretty sizable like eBay store, you know, where we sell kind of a ton of like sports cards and memorabilia. I don't know. Anyone in the fashion world would be like, wait, you do what? So I'm kind of quiet about it in the fashion world, but uh, it's not like I I'm hiding it or anything, I just it doesn't come up.

SPEAKER_01 44:50

So yeah, you you're like focusing on a different type of community, and then you have another type of community at home.

SPEAKER_00 44:58

Yeah, it's totally weird.

SPEAKER_01 45:00

Oh yeah, it's not it's not weird, it's actually cool. It keeps you relaxed and keeps you engaged in other things that are going on. So that that's like awesome. That is awesome. So if you can go back and give your younger self advice, what would you say?

SPEAKER_00 45:17

You know, I feel like everyone when they answer this question, they have some like I don't know, like super, you know, wisdom piece of wisdom, right? And I actually think I would say don't change a thing. Because I really do feel like the mistakes you make are what put you where you are. And like you can't, like it's easy to go back and say, Man, I would change this thing or I would do this or whatever. But I really do believe in the butterfly effect. I really believe that like but if you went back and changed that, then what else would that change, right? Like you needed to make that mistake or you needed to go through that process in order to, you know, get to whatever the next step was. And even though that was hard, and what you didn't intend or you overextended yourself or whatever, whatever it is, right? That if you didn't have that opportunity or that moment, again, like what else would have gone differently? And I would argue that the bad things, especially professionally, that the bad things are what ultimately get you to the good thing. And so if you didn't have any of the bad things, you don't even know how to compare bad and good, right? Like, um what's the there's like a song line that has something to do with like um, you know, with you if you like you can't recognize happiness if you don't experience sadness, right? Like they would like everything would just be happy all the time. You can't, so you need the yin and yang of of emotions. And so I guess when like if I were like the piece of advice I would give is just to follow, you know, your path and just trust that the path is okay, like that there's nothing like you can't make a mistake if you again stick to your authentic self, you be you, and you just keep taking the path and you just keep trudging along, even if it gets super muddy sometimes.

SPEAKER_01 47:19

Yeah, long as long as you learn from the muddiness. So as we are slowing down, this is a question for you, Matt. If your journey had a theme song or a vibe, what would it be and why?

SPEAKER_00 47:37

Oh man, that's a hard question.

SPEAKER_01 47:39

That's not a hard question. Come on.

SPEAKER_00 47:42

It's a super hard question. Um if it had a theme song, maybe the vibe is the easier thing to answer. I don't know. Like, I feel like it's just like uh like I like to think it's like uh, you know, I don't know, super cool, like I don't know, who's like the coolest person you can think, who's like the coolest musician you can think of. Like, I don't know, like you know, Mick Jagger or Travis Scott or somebody like I mean, you know, somebody like that. But like I really think what the vibe really is is a much more plotting, um, consistent, you know, so I think of almost like I don't know, smooth jazz or something. You know what I mean? Like where it's like this just like it's a build over time and like it's just constantly, it's comfortable. It's sort of in the background, and then all of a sudden, like it hits you with something big or good. I I don't know, like that's kind of where my brain goes of like I like to I like to never have too high of highs or too low of lows. And so, you know, for me the vibe check is always, you know, am I staying kind of right in the middle and not allowing the outside noise to to get me in one direction or the other too too much?

SPEAKER_01 48:54

So when you're driving in your vehicle and you're going boom, boom, boom, what are you listening to? 80s or 70s?

SPEAKER_00 49:00

Oh, like between those two, definitely the eighties.

SPEAKER_01 49:03

Definitely the eighties. All right. Oh yeah.

SPEAKER_00 49:06

I'm a child of the 80s, so I uh you know, all those 80s, one hit wonders. The uh there's actually a uh a station on Sirius XM called Lithium, um that's like uh new wave from the 80s for the most part, sometimes nineties. Um I don't know, there's something about that station that like is super nostalgic for me. It's like you know, NXS and REM and like bands like that.

SPEAKER_01 49:28

Yeah, so with NXS, I did um a podcast uh uh with a young fellow over there in uh Costa Rica. You gotta you gotta you gotta watch that one. That was pretty good. Gary, Gary, Gary Pierce.

SPEAKER_00 49:46

Yeah, I'll go back and watch it.

SPEAKER_01 49:48

But anyway, um just want to take the time to say thank you for being on the show. And so before we actually tap out, how can people view your your um your fashion show or come out and watch your fashion show and and a little twist of your secret life over there? Some sports cards. There's a lot of sports card people out there. A lot, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 50:18

I know, I know it's kind of a crazy, it's exploded quite a bit. Uh no, so uh online atxfashionweek.com, you can just Google Austin Fashion Week, that also works. Um is the best way to kind of get information. If you're in the Austin area and want to buy tickets, you can do it, do it there. Shows come up May 7th through 9th this season. Um, and then um if you're not in Austin or want to watch uh kind of so we've done a really I'll be the first to admit, we've done a really bad job with video. Uh we're gonna do a better job with that this season, and I think we'll probably post designer videos post-show on it on our YouTube channel and on Instagram and things like that. I would follow on Instagram ATX Fashion Week um or just on TikTok. If you're a TikTok person, you can uh just search Austin Fashion Week show first. So that's the best way. And then the uh uh the the sports card company is called Dad and Kids. Dad and Kids Baseball Breaks, even though kids are not involved so much anymore because they're off um being semi adults now uh at the time when we first started it, it was all of us on camera together.

SPEAKER_01 51:23

Well, this is CaliCat Cap Talks, and we want to say thank you, Matt.

SPEAKER_00 51:28

Thank you.