Fashion X celebrates its fourth year in Dallas with “Noir,” this Saturday, Sept. 30. It’s a one night only, packed with action event presenting 15 runway designers in an epic gallery featuring the best emerging jewelry and accessories designers in pop-up shops benefitting Every Girl Deserves Foundation and Fashion Group International of Dallas. Noir will be unlike any other fashion event you have attended, guests and decor will be in all black allowing only the designers to show pops of color.
Avant-garde pieces from Project Runway Stars Korto Momolu and Amanda Valentine as well as Dallas Fashion Power House Abi Ferrin will grace the runway. Moreover, the audience will enjoy daring design of the following emerging designers: Brittany Nicole (Austin), House of Cynthia (Dallas), Bentley & Lace (Dallas), Chasity Sereal (Houston), Silk Threads (Dallas), Gustavia Cartwright (Dallas), Vaeward (San Antonio), Noha Raouf (Dallas), Vendals (Dallas), Hopeless + Cause Atelier (New Mexico), Modish & Swank Clothing Co. (Dallas), and Don Morphy (Dallas).
Rolling out spoke with Matt Swinney, the founder and CEO of Fashion X, to find out more about this year’s Fashion X-travaganza. Check out what he shared below.
This is year four for Fashion X in Dallas. What inspired your theme “Noir” and how do you continue to keep the show fresh and exciting?
We treat each of the cities we work in as individuals. What works in one market might not work in another and one thing we kept running into in Dallas was needing to find a way to create a more engaged social event. Runway shows have a tendency to not be particularly social — as an attendee, you have to sit down, be quiet and watch the show. After much feedback from our Dallas audience we felt doing a show that allowed for a more interactive runway experience seemed a better fit. And if it’s going to be more party, less formal runway show, then we may as well theme it. The idea of having the entire audience dressed in all black and allowing the runway designers to be the only ones allowing for splashes of color seemed like a fun idea that was accessible to everyone … and should make for gorgeous pictures!
What can fashion enthusiast expect to see at your shows?
First, fashion shows should be fun. I’ll even say onstage before shows sometimes that I really want the audience to clap and yell if they see something on the runway they love. These designers pour their hearts and souls into their work and we should show them how much we love and appreciate them. So, fun first — why be so serious during a runway show?
Second, I really want the casual fashion fan to use our shows to discover new talent. We sprinkle in some Project Runway alumni to give a little “celebrity” factor in order to gain that more casual fan excited to see Amanda Valentine or one of the other designers. And they get that… but they also get to meet and view collections from someone maybe right in their hometown that’s incredibly talented but just hasn’t gotten their break yet. That’s my hope — that either we or someone in that room can really offer them that first “break.”
You produce your show in several markets, does it differ by market, if so, how?
You bet. Each city is different and we want each market to “feel” like the city it’s in. Dallas is a much more social market, hence the change to the one-night event without such a heavy emphasis on runway. People in Dallas would prefer to stand and have cocktails while watching a show, where in Austin and Houston, the audience is much more interested in a traditional sit-down runway event. We also heavily favor local designers in each market. We want each city to be proud of the designers it’s producing and seeing them in the big spotlight in their hometown is important.
What’s next for Fashion X?
Fashion X Austin will be 10 years old in 2018 so we have some amazing new events we’re rolling out. And we’re going to spread the entire year out with 10-12 major events rather than just focus on one big week. We are also planning a niche to-be-announced event this winter in San Antonio. And, pending some major sponsorship deals, we might launch our first market outside of Texas. We’ve got our eyes on a few places where we think our concept would work well. You’ll just have to keep your eye out!
Where can fashionistas find information for Fashion X Dalls Noir?
Go to https://dallas.fashionx.co for information, and https://dallas.fashionx.co/tickets/ for tickets.
Get a sneak peek of the designers fashions in the gallery below.
