Group Presentations on Austin's Fashion and Food Scenes

As told by ATXEquation student Fred Tan

Two of the scene groups the Austin Equation presented today: the fashion scene and the foodie scene. This was the first of three presentations that will occur throughout the semester. In this presentation, the groups focused on the experience and community models.

The fashion group was the first to present. The experience the chose was a visit to the innovative jewelry store Kendra Scott. This jeweler is unique because they specialize as a community centered store, engaging customers in an interactive and personalized shopping experience. The have the customers design their own jewelry and wow them by never saying no to a design. The fashion group also touched on the various local communities in the fashion scene and listed several of them. Some of the communities identified were 2nd Start, Fashionably Austin, Fashion Freakout, and Tribeza Style. These communities, as they discovered, fit nicely into the community model. The fashion group went more in depth with the UT fashion community known as Hook Em’ Fashion, a community of University of Texas fashion enthusiasts with missions, events, and protocols.

The foodie group members were the next presenters. They followed the same presentation formula as the fashion group, but talked about… food. For their experience, they chose the 2010 Gypsy Picnic. Here, almost all of the food trailers banded together to showcase their food in a fun local community event. However, the group found that the experience was a large failure due to long lines, poor parking options, and food shortages. Despite its shortcomings, they Gypsy Picnic still met the criteria of the experience model, locating attendees with popular trailers, engaging them with a children’s playground and a cook-offs, and wowing them with live music and an environmentally conscious mission. The foodie group continued their presentation with a discussion about the various communities in the food scene. Some of the communities they listed were Austin Food Trailers Alliance, Casa De Luz, Vegans Rock Austin, Farm to Market, and the Whole Foods Community. Like the fashion group, they placed these communities into the community model and explained their mission, activity, interconnectedness, and protocols.