DALLAS MEN’S SHOW PLEASES WITH TEXAS-SIZED STYLE

The Dallas Men’s Show took place at the Dallas Market Center this past weekend, July 27th to 29th. With nearly 500 vendors, 64 new exhibitors, an expanded golf lifestyle section (in partnership with PGA Golf Exhibitions), and more outdoor lifestyle exhibitors, it was truly a Texas-sized buying event. While it was great to catch up with many familiar faces, show management reports that 30% of the buyers who attended were new to Dallas, representing 33 states.

“We have had significant growth in attendance by buyers from the Southeast and Southwest,” says the Center’s Cole Daugherty, “and have growth opportunities in the West and Upper Midwest.”

The show was undoubtedly an inspiration for retailers shopping for spring/summer 2025. Here are a few brands I got to catch up with.

DLS members have already heard of this great resource. The colorful selection at Naadam cashmere stopped me, but Matthew Becker also represents Borelio, a custom apparel company that arrived on these shores five years ago. The company offers a great way to build a store’s own brand, offering a wide selection of customizable outerwear and sportswear and a great swatch selection, including a knitwear program. If you’re already serving hard-to-fit or choosy guys with your MTM program, add on to the sale with these offerings.

Boconi’s waxed canvas collection offers excellent “every day carry” pieces that balance a clean, modern design aesthetic with vintage-looking leather and canvas materials. At lighter weights and mid-tier price points (the brand also has a lovely selection of vintage-looking leather goods), it’s a great brand to keep in mind if still filling in for holiday (immediates are available!) I particularly liked this sling bag and a selection of belts that incorporate stretch into the tips and tabs, all part of the ongoing emphasis on comfort in the menswear market.

Ghurka has been modernizing its offerings without losing sight of its heritage. A new Traveler carry-on, retailing for $2,000, offers as much utility as it does style. Note the new D-ring strap, which can be added to any existing Ghurka bag to create a “slide-through” feature to attach to the handle of the Traveler.

Speaking of holiday, Bown of London offers a wide selection of robes and smoking jackets, but what stopped me were these great “formal” shoes that can be custom embroidered with the design of your choice. Consider adding a group of novelty patterns for the season’s special events or working with a local college’s alumni association.

A beautiful pair of embroidered shorts caught my attention on one of the mannequins, so I wanted to check out the Stitch Note collection. I’ve seen it once or twice, but it really stood out this season. Turns out the shorts were embroidered first and printed later to outstanding effect.

Emanuel Berg is offering a wide selection of dress and sport shirts in a fabric they’re calling “yoga cotton” (watch for a broader report on the dress shirt market later this month), but this natty polo shirt, as dressy as any dress shirt, is right on trend.

Christopher Lena could well turn out to be a store’s secret weapon, with four shirting brands at several price points. Again, I’ll talk more about this later this month, but be sure to take a look at the brand’s formal options.

I haven’t looked at Bugatti in a while, but be sure to check it out this season. They’ve got a new designer who has assembled a complete collection that can be merchandised beautifully, including suit separates that truly stand on their own.

Borgo28 is all about texture this season. From luxurious seersucker shirts to linen/cotton blend knits and casual drawstring trousers (including one favorite, a pair of fully-fashioned knit pants that, paired with a sportcoat, could take you from a day in the home office to a poolside party to dinner out), the brand has captured a European seaside resort feeling.

As you’ll read in the denim story in the August issue of MR, I was pleased to see how many denim brands have grown into complete lifestyle collections. 34Heritage once again surprised me with the breadth of sportswear in its spring line, now including blazers and outerwear.

An evening party and fashion show are great ways to see all the collections as they were meant to be worn, rather than just on hangers or folded on tables. The Dallas show always puts on a défilé that would shame many New York Fashion Week designers, and this season was no exception.

Start planning for the January show, which will run from Saturday, January 25 to 27, with a preview day on Friday, January 24. The Men’s Show dates are immediately after the Mart’s other markets, including Women’s and Western and English, creating an actual “Dallas Fashion Week.” As mentioned here, to accommodate all that growth and activity, the January show will take place in the adjacent Market Hall, a gorgeous mid-century designed edifice, with shuttles running back and forth to the permanent showrooms in the Trade Mart’s World Trade Center.