NIgel Xavier’s journey is far from conventional, and as he takes on new challenges, he’s now teaming up with Meta AI for something unexpected—redefining game-day fashion for the University of Texas and football fans everywhere.
Shamaal Bloodman
Nigel Xavier has brought creative brilliance and boundless innovation to fashion since winning Next in Fashion Season 2 on Netflix in 2023. Known as the “patchwork king” and the “wizard of denim,” Xavier has captured the imagination of the fashion world through his upcycled, avant-garde streetwear designs.
NIgel Xavier models his latest designs for the University of Texas [Knoxville and Austin] football fans.
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Shamaal Bloodman
Bringing a keen sense of luxe to upcycled garments, the “patchwork king” transforms second-hand materials into bold runway statements as his rise has been meteoric since his reality design series appearance. Xavier explains, “When I was younger, I didn’t have money to buy unique clothes, so I’d go into my closet and rework everything. There wasn’t anything in my closet that I hadn’t touched or altered. That’s when I realized I needed to take it to the next level and learn everything about it.”
His journey is far from conventional, and as he takes on new challenges, he’s now teaming up with Meta AI for something unexpected—redefining game-day fashion for the University of Texas and football fans everywhere. “It was more of a life decision that brought me into fashion,” describes Xavier.
AUSTIN, TX – SEPTEMBER 27: The Texas Longhorns mascot leads the team onto the field before the game against the Arkansas Razorbacks on September 27, 2008 at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin, Texas. Texas won 52-10. (Photo by Brian Bahr/Getty Images)
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“I’d been playing football since I was around 10 years old, through pee wee football, and I even had scholarships. But I realized I didn’t want to be a football player anymore. I wasn’t into working out or the lifestyle. Plus, I was injured a couple of times.”
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NIgel Xavier models his latest designs for the University of Texas [Knoxville and Austin] football fans.
Shamaal Bloodman
“That’s when I realized football wasn’t for me. I started feeling more fashion – dressing differently, and that’s when I knew I needed to find something else I was passionate about. As soon as the football season ended, there was an after-school program that introduced me to styling, modeling, and designing. I dove deep into it, and that’s when I decided to go to school for this.”
Today, Xavier is coming of age in fashion, using Meta AI and how it enhances his approach to football and college pride and his fashion design. This collaboration with Meta comes through their “Super Fan” campaign, a movement aimed at tapping into the passions of sports enthusiasts while integrating Meta AI’s capabilities to enhance their experiences.
NIgel Xavier is now teaming up with Meta AI for game-day fashion for the University of Texas and football fans.
Shamaal Bloodman
Xavier states, “I’m super excited to be part of this. You know, continuing to work with Meta, especially on this project, feels like it speaks to my story — how I started in football and then transitioned into fashion. And now we’re bringing this AI tech approach to it, and it’s super helpful to the process and everything.”
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“It cuts out so much of the time you’d usually spend searching for things. I can ask what colorways work together, and AI will give me color theory. For this project, I could ask, ‘What are the key things that make you a Super Fan of UT Austin?’ It will give me answers like the longhorns and the “hook-’em-horns” signal. It even gave me textures to play with for the sweatsuit. When my friend is busy, I can go to Meta AI, and it’ll give me those second ideas instantly.”
NIgel Xavier models his latest designs for the University of Texas [Knoxville and Austin] football fans.
Shamaal Bloodman
In Xavier’s case, the fusion of technology and fashion uniquely manifests itself. For Nigel, this partnership is personal. A football superfan, he’s leveraging Meta AI to create a fashion-forward patchwork sweatsuit for the University of Texas at Austin. This isn’t just any outfit—it’s a reimagining of game-day style, infused with the cultural pride and tradition that college football brings.
“I think this is going to be key for people keeping up in such a fast-paced industry,” Xavier predicts. “It cuts time on finding inspiration – and helps with sustainability because you can work through ideas without wasting materials. I haven’t felt like AI is overstepping my natural creativity. It’s just making it easier [for us] to expand on ideas we might not think of naturally. It’s like a superpower, and everyone will have access to it, so it’s all about what you do with that power.”
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“I’m naturally intuitive, so, it aligns perfectly with what I do – make me stronger in what I have to do.” Xavier’s role in Meta’s “Super Fan” campaign is part of a larger initiative to showcase how AI can deepen the fan experience. From connecting superfans to their favorite athletes to offering creative ways to express team loyalty, Meta AI is empowering users across the spectrum.
NIgel Xavier won Netflix reality series Next In Fashion season 2 and is now teaming up with Meta AI for game-day fashion for the University of Texas and football fans.
Shamaal Bloodman
“Growing up, I’ve experienced all those college football moments, but for this project, I haven’t been able to experience the energy of UT Austin firsthand. AI helped me capture that. It was like a cheat code, helping me become a super fan and understand their culture.” Whether through customized recipes for a football watch party courtesy of rapper Action Bronson, or AI-driven sports trivia with Texas football stars, the campaign is opening up new ways for fans to engage with their passions and creatives to engage with their fans.
After more than a decade at 2015 E. Riverside Drive (following the original Red River-era venue closing in 2011), Emo’s current Riverside space will be taken over by AEG Presents when the lease ends later this year. The Los Angeles, CA-based company will assume operations in January 2027 and plans to reopen the building under a new name in early 2027 following upgrades, renovations and a full rebrand.
AEG are also opening a new 4,000-cap venue nearby next spring as part of the River Park mixed-use development in southeast Austin.
C3 Presents, who reopened Emo’s at the Riverside location, say this isn’t the end of Emo’s — they’re working on a new home and plan to move the venue back to downtown Austin, with more updates to come.
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AEG Presents Vice President Robin Phillips shared the following:
There’s like no weirdness or any bad blood or anything. It just, you know, new lease and they’ll [Emo’s] go do something great. They have been important to the Austin music scene, so I have a lot of respect for them.
But I don’t think the Austin music scene or legacy is limited to one name. I know people will remember the original Emo’s and this Emo’s as, you know, both great venues… And I don’t think Austin’s music scene is just a name, it’s the artists, in my opinion.
A C3 spokesperson added:
Emo’s has a long history in Austin and we’ve been working behind the scenes for some time on a new home for this venue. After we wrap up at this venue in December, we will focus our efforts on our new location.
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Emo’s gave the following statement to Austin local news KXAN:
We’re grateful for all of the fans and artists who’ve shaped Emo’s to what it is today: a community of like-minded people who love live music. We have a vision for our future and will be moving into a new building downtown that celebrates our punk rock roots with the new amenities that fans are looking for from a venue. We’ll continue to share updates on the next chapter for Emo’s on social media.
AUSTIN, Texas – State and federal agriculture officials said highly pathogenic avian flu has been found in a herd of dairy cows in Texas.
What we know:
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Officials said the H5N1 virus was confirmed with laboratory tests in late May after cows at an unspecified farm became sick and milk production dropped. The dairy has since been quarantined and an investigation is underway.
This is the first case of avian flu in a Texas dairy herd this year, officials said.
What they’re saying:
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“The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is confident that pasteurization is effective at inactivating H5N1, and that the commercial, pasteurized milk supply is safe,” officials at the Texas Animal Health Commission said in a statement.
A dairy cow is seen at a farm on June 1, 2026. (Tim Evans/Bloomberg / Getty Images)
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Dig deeper:
H5N1 has a high rate of severe disease and death in animals that become infected.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the risk to the general public from avian flu is low. Some sporadic human infections have been reported around the world since 1997. There have been no known cases of person-to-person spreading of avian flu.
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The Source: Information in this story came from the Texas Animal Health Commission, the USDA, the FDA and the CDC.
AUSTIN, Texas — Self-driving cars have become a common sight on Austin streets, but a new Texas law is adding tougher requirements for the companies behind the wheelless vehicles.
Senate Bill 2807 imposes stricter rules on autonomous vehicle companies operating in the state, including state authorization, emergency response plans for law enforcement, and a public portal where residents can verify operators and file safety complaints.
The changes come as Austin continues to track incidents involving autonomous vehicles. The city’s autonomous vehicle dashboard shows 75 incidents in 2026, including a collision, eight near misses, and seven incidents of ignoring police direction.
Attorney Drew Gibbs, a partner at Slingshot Law, said one crash involved a Waymo vehicle.
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“There was a T-bone collision. A pretty serious T-bone collision where a Waymo just crashed into the side of my client’s vehicle,” Gibbs said.
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One of the incidents of ignoring police direction happened during the mass shooting on West Sixth Street back in March, when three people died, and 15 others were injured.
Austin Police Association President Michael Bullock said autonomous vehicles can struggle in unusual situations.
“It didn’t impede on anything in the moment, but it’s not necessarily uncommon where these vehicles don’t quite know how to deal with these one-off scenarios,” Bullock said.
The new law requires autonomous vehicle companies to be authorized by the state, to provide an emergency response plan for law enforcement, and to participate in a public-facing portal that allows the public to verify operators and submit safety complaints.
Kara Kockelman, a professor of transportation and engineering at the University of Texas at Austin, welcomed the added oversight.
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“I’m glad that the state is taking this a bit more seriously now,” she said. “It’s important not to just let others slip in without kind of meeting those basic minimums.”
Bullock said the emergency planning requirement may not make a major difference in fast-moving situations. Asked how impactful it is to have a fully laid out emergency response plan, Bullock said, “These plans are great, but it takes time to work through all of those versus the immediacy of having someone behind the wheel.”
The four autonomous vehicle companies operating in Austin — Waymo, Zoox, AV-Ride, and Tesla — are all state-authorized.
The Texas DMV said an autonomous vehicle company can lose its authorization to operate in Texas if the agency deems the vehicles are operating in a way that endangers public safety.
Waymo was contacted for comment, but had not responded.