French fashion designer Coco Chanel says goodbye to Stanley Marcus after her 1957 visit to Dallas. Photo: Shel Hershorn/Hulton Archive/Getty Images
Dallas was once a fashion destination because of Neiman Marcus.
Why it matters: Neiman Marcus, which opened in 1907, transformed the high fashion industry.
It was the first American couture boutique to host weekly fashion shows and the first apparel store outside New York City to advertise in national magazines, per Texas Monthly.
Driving the news: The 111-year-old flagship Neiman Marcus in downtown Dallas will close next month.
Saks Global will also close Neiman's three-story office in CityPlace after acquiring Neiman Marcus Group last year.
The intrigue: The company moved to its current location off Main and Ervay streets after a fire damaged the original store in 1913.
French designer Coco Chanel attended when Neiman's converted the Dallas store into a Parisian paradise in 1957, the company's first annual Fortnight event.
For 29 years, the company invited diplomats, artists and fashionistas to the annual soirées.
Zoom in: Stanley Marcus, the luxury retailer's longtime president, "believed in bringing the world to the city of Dallas [and] the city of Dallas to the world," former Neiman Marcus vice president Ken Downing told Curated Texan in 2023.
The bottom line: Walking through downtown won't be the same without window shopping Neiman's latest collection.
