Two Different Dallas Fashion Weeks Face Off This Fall

Dallas will be graced with the presence of not one, but two Dallas Fashion Weeks later this month. The unrelated events both take place in and around downtown, and each will feature multiple runway presentations across several days  — the similarities end there.

First, Nova Strategy Group’s Dallas Fashion Week will take place Oct. 7-9. Then, Dallas Fashion Week presented by The Bureau will run from Oct. 23-26.

The Backstory

The history of fashion week-style events in our city is varied. These productions are typically mounted by a single company, which charges a participation fee to designers or brands and sells tickets to attendees. A distinction must be made between fashion weeks and solo shows mounted by an individual store, charity or brand. Think official music festival performer versus a spill-over club date or benefit concert. 

Accentuating the positive, The Pin Show and Fashion X Dallas were two long-running events from the past that combined curated regional talent lineups, professional marketing efforts and high production values. However, we’ve also suffered through our fair share of lesser fashion week efforts plagued by poorly-produced shows, half-empty audiences or other failures to deliver on the return on investment for Dallas-area designers and fashion lovers. 

Julie McCullough, founder of The Pin Show, initially launched the showcase to meet a need in this hit-or-miss landscape.

“When I launched The Pin Show, it was in direct response to a void I saw in the city — there were few opportunities for designers to showcase their work in a professional, accessible setting,” she says.

Her production ran from 2007 to 2018, providing a premium platform for emerging designers in cool venues such as The Gypsy Tea Room and The Bomb Factory. Unfortunately, however, as McCullough made plans to transition the production to a new team to focus on her own retail concept, The Pin Show hit a dead end in 2020 due to a combination of schedule conflicts and COVID-19. 

Matt Swinney, Founder of Fashion X, hosted his production annually in Dallas from 2013 to 2019. Showcasing emerging designers in well-produced runway shows, Fashion X attracted high-spirited crowds to an industrial downtown venue. He notes changing expectations from designers as another complicating factor for show producers.

“When I started, the number-one question I got from designers was, ‘How many and which retail buyers will be at the shows?’ I literally never get that question anymore,” he says. “Today, designers are really looking for exposure and something that gives them credibility. Being curated into a fairly difficult show gives them a badge they can put out there anytime they’re talking to wholesalers or direct customers.”

Concurrent with changing designer expectations, Swinney’s Dallas shows experienced a decline in attendance leading up to the final pre-pandemic year. A reboot in late 2023 brought Fashion X to a new location with a fresh lineup, but times had changed.

“We just didn’t get the crowds we would have hoped for, and it was too bad, because they were some of the most visually stunning shows we ever produced in Dallas,” Swinney recalls.

For now, Fashion X has no immediate plans to return to Dallas, focusing instead on the Austin market.

Today, new multi-designer productions and increasing opportunities for designers outside the traditional runway show model, such as markets and festivals, continue to multiply here in Big D. Whether it can be attributed to the post-pandemic landscape, shifting expectations, or the ever-fickle nature of fashion in general, McCullough sees this evolution as a good thing, but with an asterisk.

“The increase in platforms and events available to designers in Dallas signals not only growth, but a thriving creative community that’s becoming more inclusive and dynamic. But as fashion week seasons expand and costs rise, it’s critical to ask a fundamental question, ‘What am I hoping to gain from this?’” 

Nova Strategy Group’s Dallas Fashion Week 

Up first this fall, Dallas Fashion Week is produced by Nova Strategy Group and billed as “a new international platform that creates a bridge between fashion designers, artists and the U.S. market.” Spanning three evenings from Oct 7-9, the first two nights’ shows will be held at On The Levee (1108 Quaker St, Dallas, TX 75207) and the final show will take place at the Frontiers of Flight Museum (6911 Lemmon Ave, Dallas, TX 75209). Tickets for Nova’s Dallas Fashion Week start at $99 for a single-night general admission pass, and increase to $950 for a three-day VIP pass, which includes caviar and a guaranteed front-row seat. On the designer side, the cost to participate starts at $2,000 and increases from there, depending on the number of looks, add-on marketing and public relations services also offered by Nova Strategy Group. 

To put the costs in perspective, The Pin Show charged designers $250 to participate, with ticket prices starting at $20 for general admission and rising to $160 for VIP front row. Fashion X Dallas’ designer participation fee ranged from $300 to $1500, and attendee ticket prices spanned $50 to $195 per day. 

This will be the fifth event in Nova’s twice-yearly Dallas Fashion Week series launched in March 2023. Past events have been held at venues including high-end apartment buildings and art galleries. Notable past designers have included evening wear by SemSem New York and ceramic “wearable sculptures” by Nicole Moan. This October’s lineup is planned to showcase five African designers, including Estaz Clothing, Bibi Laurence, Gold Girl Couture, House of Fluffy and GCC Classy Clothing, in addition to a handful of independent evening wear and streetwear brands.

The purpose of Dallas Fashion Week, according to CEO Nataliya Nova, is “business development for fashion brands through fashion events, networking cocktail receptions, PR, marketing and e-commerce support.” In addition to fashion week, her marketing packages for designers start at $850 and “include placement in at least one top-tier magazine” and “promotion through our exclusive 75K email list in the Dallas Metro.”

That may seem steep, but pay-to-play is nothing new in the world of fashion, and Nova boasts a 19-year career spanning fashion, media relations, and events highlighting luxury brands and European magazines.

Dallas designer Brydric Wright, Founder and Creative Director of Five Eleven Collection, speaks fondly of his experience showing in Nova’s Dallas Fashion Week in 2023.

“The show was thoughtfully organized and, for me, reignited the spirit of Dallas’ fashion community, something that had been deeply missed in the wake of COVID,” he tells us. “Nataliya is deeply committed to connecting creatives with the world, and I’m truly grateful for people like her who uplift and support our design community.”

Wright believes that his participation resulted in high-quality marketing assets and the introduction of his brand to a broader audience.

Dallas Fashion Week Presented by The Bureau

Next up, The Bureau’s Dallas Fashion Week is set to take place Oct. 23-26 at The Statler Hotel (1914 Commerce St, Dallas, TX 75201). It is billed as a “dynamic stage for established designers, emerging talents and industry leaders to exhibit their vision and push the boundaries of fashion.” Tickets range from $81.75 for a General Admission individual show pass and $4,399 for a VIP front row weekend pass, including hotel accommodations, backstage access and an after-party. On the designer side, participation packages range from $1,700 and up, “depending on goals,” and are billed to include runway production, styling services, photos, video and “invitations sent to industry professionals.”

The designer lineup for The Bureau’s Dallas Fashion Week has not yet been announced, and our attempts to reach a representative of The Bureau were unsuccessful — the email address listed on the website bounced back as undeliverable. An AI-assisted customer service chat feature provided only repetitive, circular responses. Messages to The Bureau’s COO, Mylitta Butler, via LinkedIn and Instagram went unanswered, and The Statler declined to provide any information on the upcoming production, nor a contact name. We attempted to contact several designers featured at past shows, with only one responding to our DM: Dragonwing. 

Dragonwing CEO Allison Herman describes the brand’s focus as “convention-style dance wear” for girls aged five and up, with a recent expansion into girls’ swimwear. By design, Herman’s runway presentations utilize everyday kids, rather than professional models, and in her experience with The Bureau, she is effusively positive.

“We’ve had a truly wonderful experience with the Bureau — this will actually be our 14th show with them,” Herman told us. “We’ve walked in every city they produce, and they consistently deliver a fantastic production. Like any live event, there are always challenges and unexpected hiccups, but we always know the end result will be an incredible show.”

She declined to comment on the financial aspect of her shows with The Bureau.

Additionally, multiple “scam alert” videos and reviews are available online about The Bureau’s fashion events. The majority of these reports are written from the attendee perspective, claiming poor productions, failure to deliver on promised VIP experiences, and shows featuring predominantly children’s and juniors’ clothing. In addition, The Bureau, formerly known as The Society, claims to be “the official producer of New York Fashion Week, Paris Fashion Week, Los Angeles Fashion Week and Miami Swim Week.” These events appear to be independent productions of The Bureau and not affiliated with the long-established luxury designer fashion weeks we have come to associate with the same names. 

The Takeaway

Should designers participate in an upcoming Dallas Fashion Week? Should fashion fans attend a show, or two or ten? As ever, the onus is on the individual to assess value and choose where to spend their dollars.

On the designer side, McCullough advises, “Runway shows can serve multiple purposes, including brand marketing, high-quality images and media coverage. All of these are valid goals. However, they should be weighed carefully against the investment required.”

As for attendees, it’s all about managing expectations and understanding as much about the show you’re planning to attend as possible. If the experience they’re promising sounds too good to be true, well, you know the rest of that well-worn phrase.