Austin is being represented on a national level, again! Fashion designer Anslee Connell will be showing her curvy couture designs from her Savannah Red collection at the Full Figured Fashion Week event in New York City Friday, where 12 styled models will wear her collection down the runway during the Indie Designer Showcase.

Connell designs for real women with real curves; women who embrace fashion and who like to shop and are fiercely loyal to the brands they buy. She says the Savannah Red client is bold and enjoys making a statement. She is sexy, confident, playful, enjoys fashion and has fun in what she wears.

The designer selects fabrics from Austin’s most popular vintage shops and doesn’t recycle them — rather, she upcycles them. The tone of her collections have also been mostly inspired from the 1950s.

She is premiering her new “Native Swing” collection at the event. It's a 12-piece collection inspired both by the 1920s and her Cherokee Native American heritage. The printed fabric she uses is made with organic cotton and was designed by her aunt, Kathie Ball Montgomery. It is very different from the 1950s retro feel that she's been doing for the past three years.

Her creative side isn't all fashion-based. Connell grew up a jazz singer and the name 'Savannah Red' was given to her by her father as a stage name. She is also an accomplished photographer.

Given her varied interests, living in Austin is a natural and creative fit. She moved here in 2007 and started putting together her eco-chic, vintage inspired clothing for women who are full-figured. She says Austin is a supportive community for designers and embraces creative types; Austin embodies the "land of opportunity."

And Connell is looking for an opportunity while in New York. You never know — she could receive a small slice of the $20 billion per year plus size clothing sales market.

Connell will be participating in the independent designers expo along with 15 designers from Australia, France and beyond.

Here’s a Texas-sized congratulations to Anslee Connell for making it to the Big Apple.