Style X (pronounced "Style By"), part of the South by Southwest 2011 festival, served as a showcase for emerging fashion from around the world. And Austin-based brands were front and center.
The two-day Style X event included panel discussions, multiple fashion shows and a pop-up retail showcase with dozens of brands presenting new designs in screenprinting, women’s, menswear, streetwear, swimwear and accessories.
Austin Brands
Criquet
© Criquet
The Austin-based designers Billy Nachman and Hobson Brown mesh sustainability and style by using organic fabrics to create classic polo shirts.
HELM Handmade Boots
© HELM Handmade Boots
The company, founded by Joshua Bingaman, produces its own reinterpretation of the classic men's boot. Its styles are designed in Austin and handmade in Istanbul using materials from Holland, Australia, Italy and France.
Open Arms
© Open Arms
The Austin-based company, founded in late 2010, employs refugee women resettled in America from war-torn countries like Sudan and Congo to create unique, sustainable accessories and apparel from recycled t-shirts. The business doubles as a social enterprise with a goal of paying workers a living wage and offering a family-friendly work environment to encourage self-sufficiency.
Tikkr
© Tikkr
The Austin company, founded by Cory Stout, likens its timepieces to the Swatch watches of old. Best of all you can mix and match the interchangeable bands, which come in 20 colors, including Olive You, Navy Seal and Pink Panther.
toxo-philite
© toxo-philite
The Austin-based atelier, created by Chelsea Jacquelyn Jones, is known for a collection that stresses clean lines and classic design and uses sumptuous fabrics.