Fashion is everywhere around us and includes clothes, interiors, cars and even food. All these things are influenced by fashion, which shapes the preferences of millions of people. We do not always like it and it is not always practical. Still, it affects the life of every inhabitant of the Earth.
We will tell you how fashion has developed in Dallas and the area surrounding the city. Read more on dallaska.
A small preface
Fashion in Dallas, Texas and in the USA before the Second World War was a secondary matter. It imitated the English, French and partially Italian manner. Everything changed with the end of the war. Europe was in ruins and need of a major reconstruction. The US was free to choose styles.
Fashion in Dallas at the beginning of the 20th century
The development of fashion in Dallas began in 1900. It was after the completion of the railroads that connected Dallas with other cities in the states. The city was quite rich because oil fields were discovered nearby and cotton was traded in the ports.
In industrially developed Dallas, rich people appeared who wanted luxury.
Neiman-Marcus
The Marcus family (Herbert Marcus Sr., his sister Carrie Marcus and husband A.L. Neiman) opened a luxury goods store in 1907. The store’s assortment also included clothes. Despite the crisis of 1907, almost all goods were sold out within a few weeks after opening.
By the mid-1930s, Neiman-Marcus had expanded its trade throughout the state and the South. Residents of Dallas, who liked to show off their wealth, became frequent guests of luxury stores.
The first charity fashion show was held in the store in 1936. In 1938, Stanley Marcus started the Neiman-Marcus Award for Distinguished Service in Fashion.
Subsequently, Neiman-Marcus advertised its stores in the famous publications Harper’s Bazaar and Vogue. The sequence of development of the network stimulated the owners to sell things of the famous brands Missoni, Emilio Pucci and Bottega Veneta.
The first shopping mall
Hugh Prather and Edgar Flipper built a shopping center that was to function as a town square. In 1931, Highland Park Village was ready. The newly created building has enough space for offices and retail. A gas station was located on the territory.
‘Over the past decades, numerous international brands such as Chanel, Dior, Saint Laurent, Tom Ford, Ralph Lauren and others that play a huge role in the fashion industry have been strategically added to our tenant collection,’ said owner and managing director Stephen Summers.
Most shoppers were attracted to the fashion that was available in the store.
Great development of fashion
In the period between 1960 and 1980, there was a big fashion boom in Dallas. This happened because Raymond Nasher built the first air-conditioned shopping center in the city in 1965. He named it NorthPark Center. At that time, it was the largest retail center in the world and housed the famous fashion stores Neiman Marcus, as well as JC Penney, Woolworths and Titche-Goettinger.
The development of fashion is not possible without modeling agencies, which also began to appear in Dallas.
Another high-end outlet, Korshak opened at Crescent in the 1980s. The store attracted customers with its Italian design and The Shak for men and women.
Texas fashion collection
The founders of fashion in Dallas did not stop at business. In 1930, Neiman Marcus began collecting clothing and haberdashery from the past to create a museum. At first, the collection was private. It was transferred to the University of North Texas in 1972. The collection includes creations of famous designers:
- Hubert Givenchy, 387 units
- Oscar de la Renta, 301 units
- Dior, 151 copies
- Cristobal Balenciaga, 340 units.
The collection includes 20,000 designer items spanning 250 years of fashion history.
The Texas fashion collection is available to researchers, artists, designers, historians and sociologists. It is open equally to children who go to an art club and students with specific areas of study.
Dallas as the fashion capital
In 2013, Chanel brought their fashion collection to Dallas for a show. A huge number of fashion connoisseurs from all over the world visited Dallas to see it.
Fashion in the 21st century
With the development of the Internet and technology, fashion has become more accessible through the smartphone screen. There are many fashion bloggers in Dallas who showcase their work online:
- Mary Summers of So Then They Say
- Jane Aldridge of Sea of Shoes
- Amber Venz of VenzEdits
- Courtney Kerr of What Courtney Wore
- Tina Craig of Bag Snob.
Fashion continues on its way. Dallas, which is one of the centers not only of interactive technologies and business but also of fashion, continues to assert itself. The history of fashion in Dallas, from the first high-end store to the concentration of the fashion industry, is simply amazing.