With her signature nail color — a specific deep navy she’s been getting from the same nail salon for as long as she can remember — perfectly placed jewelry adorning each finger and wrist and a presence that immediately makes you feel as though you’ve been friends for years, Alexa Gignac is distinctly herself. In many ways, she always has been.
As a little girl, Gignac cut up her Barbie clothes to create new looks and altered her school uniform to better fit her personal style. The costumes, makeup and production of theater classes appealed to her just as much as performing. And, with numerous family members in creative fields and an aunt who was a seamstress, Gignac jokes that fashion and creativity might just be in her blood. Looking back, the connective thread is almost too obvious, and today, it shows itself on a larger scale, and often, for other people.
By 19, Gignac knew she wanted a career in fashion, and got a job at one of the Coastal Bend’s only high-end retailers, Julian Gold. She was hooked on putting together the perfect ensemble for clients, but she knew she could do more. After a brief stint at local boutique Coastal Closet, she rejoined the Julian Gold team as the store director’s assistant and, in February 2020, stepped into the store director’s position.
She had to go from co-worker to leader among a team that, in many cases, had known her since she first walked onto the sales floor at 19. “You learn, and you evolve alongside your teammates and you make one another better,” she said.Gignac finally got the job she’d been working toward, but at quite possibly the worst time for retail: the pandemic. In a swift act of creative genius, she began curating full wardrobes in the window displays for people to drive up, browse and shop; and even began making home deliveries to meet clients’ needs.
That effort underscores something Gignac has come to understand as essential to the business: relationships. Clothes can be ordered online, but the trust built between stylist and client—and the experience that comes with it—is harder to replicate.
Throughout her now six and a half years as store director, she is proud to have led efforts to expand the location’s contemporary department, broaden both the clientele and online audience, diversify price points and ensure the store stays involved in the community. The latter of which she logs countless hours for.
The annual Cattle Baron’s Couture for a Cure Style Show benefiting the American Cancer Society is a great example. Along with then Julian Gold employees Jen Butler and Kari Morrison, Gignac helped bring the event to the Coastal Bend. Ten years ago, it began modestly with just a few models walking around a backyard pool. By contrast, 2026’s sold-out show featured over 20 models displaying multiple looks, salsa dancers on the runway and a crowd of more than 400 attendees — ultimately raising $151,040 for ACS. From styling the entire show to helping with logistics, marketing and securing sponsorships, Gignac’s expertise in putting on a production, in all its glitz and glamour, is on full display at this event. Come 2027, though she’ll still have her styling duties all over the Style Show, Gignac will step into a larger role as a co-chair of the Cattle Baron’s Ball.
The annual Charity League Styleshow & Luncheon is another way in which Gignac lends her talents to philanthropic efforts. Events like this and Couture for a Cure are the results of months of meetings, research, fittings and logistics—all ultimately in service of raising funds and awareness for important needs in the community.
In a career that has already come a long way, deciding what she is most proud of proves difficult. “It’s hard for me to think about what I am most proud of, and I think that’s because I’m just not done,” she shared. “I know I have so much more to give, so much more to do.”
As a seven-time winner of The Local’s List Personal Stylist/Shopper category, the creative mind behind countless charity-related fashion shows and a stylist for various editorials and marketing shoots, it’s fair to say Gignac is responsible for helping to elevate the Coastal Bend’s style. To understand why she’s so good at it, though, you have to look beyond the clothes.
She traces her mindset that fashion is more than just clothing or accessorizing in part to her mother, from whom she also inherited her work ethic. Growing up, she watched her mother get dressed and put her makeup on every day. It didn’t matter if she was going to work, the grocery store or nowhere at all—getting ready was something she did for herself.
That understanding now informs the way Gignac dresses other women. The reason so many trust her implicitly might have something to do with Gignac’s own vulnerability.
“If I am being totally honest, I am very insecure, and I think recognizing that in myself allows me to recognize it in others,” Gignac said. “As women, we are constantly told what we should look like, and in my job, I often hear women talk about the things they don’t like about themselves. So, when they’re in my fitting room, I relate to how they’re feeling, but I try to get them to focus on the features they do like about themselves. If something isn’t working, we pivot. It’s never, ‘Oh, that didn’t work.’ It’s always, ‘We can do better.’ ‘We can always find something better.’ And then, when they put on an outfit they love, everything changes. They literally light up, and that’s my favorite thing.”
Acting almost as a tagline to her life, the phrase “We can do better” echoes in all that Gignac does. It describes her styling philosophy, her approach to leadership, her career and how she advocates for the causes she is passionate about. This can be better; let me figure out how.
And while Gignac has plenty of time to determine what “better” looks like next, what she ultimately hopes people will remember about her has nothing to do with what she wore. “That I made them feel good,” she said earnestly. “That would truly bring me joy, knowing that ultimately, I made people feel good about themselves.”
