Is Dallas The Next Hub Of Fashion?

Tell me: when you think of Dallas, Texas do you think of turquoise fringe leather jackets, rhinestones, and platinum blonde hair teased to Jesus? While our preconceptions of southern fashion is still stuck in the late '80s, the city itself is as on trend like Balmain shoes on a Kardashian. Dallas is becoming the new center for fashion, and here's why.

According to a recent article by The Wall Street Journal, luxury designers are looking at Dallas and seeing something they like: consumers with taste and money to spend.

"Dallas, according to a McKinsey Group forecast this year, will be No. 12 on the list of top 20 global markets for luxury fashion sales by 2025, falling right behind Seoul (No. 10) and Singapore (No. 11)—and behind only two other U.S. cities, New York (No. 5) and Los Angeles (No. 8). (Paris is No. 1.) The Dallas metro-area population, including Fort Worth, of 6.97 million is less than half Los Angeles at 18.55 million and New York at 19.95 million," according to WSJ .

Apparently, big time designers are flocking to Dallas for events and appearances. Additionally, the southern social scene is bustling in the fall. For example, football games are a big, formal affair in the south, where some universities dress in cocktail dresses and bow ties whether you're in the stands or living the suite life. Black tie galas aren't uncommon, either. The fall's heavy social schedule creates a fashion frenzy in the spring, where come shoppers are requesting fresh-from-the-runway pieces from their stylists.

“Fashion is a sport in Dallas,” says Juan Lerma, a sales associate at Vintage Martini, a consignment shop that caters to the designer-fashion crowd. “It’s cut throat.”

One Amsterdam-based designer said he was "surprised at how sophisticated and truly fashion-enthusiastic the people we met were," according to WSJ.

Well, considering flights to Dallas are pretty cheap these days, we may have to make a well-dressed appearance.