Today we’d like to introduce you to Claire Saldaña.
Hi Claire, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
For college, I attended the Artist Institute of Dallas and learned very quickly during school projects that while I love designing garments, the fun of the runway was more interesting to me. Fast forward to me living in Austin for a few years. At this point, I only dipped my toes into the fashion scene. Then Covid hit, Austin fashion week went digital, and Matt Swinney of FASHION BY EVENTS who runs fashion week asked me if I could help out with styling and general runway production. It had been a few years since I had done back-of-house runway production, and I said I would only come out of retirement for one show. Boy was I wrong! Here we are almost 3 years later and embarking on the 15th year of Austin fashion week. I now have a team that I work with on back-of-house runway show production and have been fortunate enough to participate in other fashion-related projects.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
With each production, I always learn something new and try to grow a little more. I would say the first runway show that I put together there were tons of late nights and many coffee runs. The coffee runs have stayed the same, but not as many late nights.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I named my company Style Done Easy because I wanted to make life easier for people. We do several things: runway production, styling for photo shoots and TV, personal styling, and closet organization. What is runway production? We oversee all the designers, models, and the timing of hair and makeup before the show. Then during the show itself, we change models and get looks on the runway. The way we say it the show doesn’t start unless we say so. I have a monthly style segment on Studio 512 on KXAN, here I show you what’s trending for the season. Fun fact: I always try to collaborate with a local boutique to feature more of a local Austin. On TV is where you can get a taste of how I style my clients!
What are your plans for the future?
I’m looking forward to 2023 as it’s the 15th year of Austin fashion week, and I think we walked off the runway this year already planning what we would do for 2023.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.styledoneeasy.com
- Instagram: Theclairesaldana
- Facebook: STYLE DONE EASY with Claire Saldaña
Image Credits
Solo on runway – @dgphotoholic
Styling men – @toddwhite
Tan/red outfits – @shots_x_nathelie
Styling older client – @lorraine_photography
@maryg04 – Mary Garza on the photo of myself taping down the blue backdrop.
