I’ll admit I feared I'd be walking into a costume shop when I attended the Dallas International Fashion show this past Friday at the African American Museum in Fair Park. Promising a range of looks from the cultures of Africa, Latin America, India, Asia, and the Caribbean, the event could have been just that. Instead, this community-driven effort helped remind me not to be so quick to judge the unknown, and it supplied a fresh understanding of what the term "international fashion" could really mean.      

International fashion is like speaking a universal language.

It is much more than costume attire, more than a mere cultural representation.

       

It is living a life with no barriers, and finding beauty in every thing and every person.

   

Every piece carries a story.

   

Every accessory holds meaning.

   

These looks traced a story without giving away the best parts.

Following each walk, I longed to see more.

       

It is deep history brought to the present, rich cultures made modern.

       

Communal. Spirited. Provocative. Inspiring.

    (All photos, credit S.F. with additional photo editing by Heather Lettieri)