Downtown Fargo Fashion Show Brings Style to Broadway Square

Broadway Square traded its usual downtown setting for a runway Friday, Sept. 18, as models, boutiques, designers and makers gathered for the Downtown Fargo Fashion Show.

The event served as the grand finale of Fargo Fashion Week, bringing local retailers and models together for an evening centered on fashion in the Fargo-Moorhead community. Alongside the runway, attendees could explore pop-ups and demonstrations highlighting sewing, textiles, jewelry, design and other work that goes into the fashion industry.

Pop-ups ran from 4 to 8 p.m., while models took to the runway beginning at 6 p.m. The event was held at Broadway Square in downtown Fargo.

For Natalie Sparrow, founder of Natalie Sparrow Management and Fargo Fashion Week, the show provides more than an opportunity to display clothing.

“It brings the community together and small businesses together,” Sparrow said.

Sparrow served as a co-producer and sponsor of the Downtown Fargo Fashion Show and managed the models participating in the event. She has been involved with the downtown show for the past two years.

The runway featured models from Natalie Sparrow Management wearing clothing from retailers and organizations across the Fargo-Moorhead area. Participating retailers included O’Day Cache, Proper, Red Brick Boutique, Stabo Scandinavian Imports, My Best Friend’s Closet, Beyond Running, Joy Studio, The Nines, Mystic Moth Studio, Halberstadts on Broadway, Violet Vintage, Drift Clothing, Devine Fashionitas, Tastee Vintage and Fargo Moorhead Community Theatre (Downtown Community Partnership, 2026).

“It is an opportunity for the models to be a part of fashion week,” Sparrow said.

The runway stretched across Broadway Square’s green turf, with models displaying looks ranging from vintage clothing to contemporary fall styles. A vendor area nearby gave attendees another way to interact with the local fashion community, with clothing, beauty services and demonstrations available throughout the evening (Paige, 2026).

While the runway was a central attraction, organizers expanded this year’s event to focus on the work that happens before clothing reaches a runway.

Interactive and educational pop-ups were incorporated throughout Broadway Square, allowing attendees to meet local makers and watch demonstrations.

Organizers advertised opportunities to learn about sewing, textiles, jewelry and design, as well as careers in fashion and retail. Student work and projects in progress were also part of the event (Downtown Community Partnership, 2026).

The expanded format brought together businesses and individuals from different areas of the fashion industry. Vendors included Roza’s Sewing, Gigi’s Jewels, the NDSU Fashion, Apparel and Business Organization, Rae Bon Sew & Quilt Shop, Stuck on Your Permanent Jewelry, Jenny Sue Creations, Off the Brim Custom Trucker Hats, Adornae, Wildflower & Co., TuftLuv, Samura Photography, Mastel Eyewear, Soho Hairstyling and others.

The variety illustrated an element of fashion that organizers sought to emphasize: The industry extends beyond models and clothing retailers.

Demonstrations gave attendees a closer look at some of those skills. Among them was rug tufting by the owner of TuftLuv, who demonstrated the process of creating a rug during the event. Home economics teacher and custom sewing professional Cindy McGuire Thiel and retired educator Elaine Keller also demonstrated embroidery techniques (Paige, 2026).

The demonstrations complemented a vendor area where attendees could browse products ranging from vintage and contemporary clothing to other fashion- and beauty-related offerings.

The Downtown Fargo Fashion Show is part of the larger Fargo Fashion Week, an initiative that began in 2023.

Fargo Fashion Week was introduced with a series of events held Oct. 9-14, 2023. At the time, organizers said the initiative was intended to bring a variety of events to Fargo’s fashion and arts community while continuing to highlight local designers, artists and boutiques throughout the year (Fargo Fashion Week, 2023).

The first Fargo Fashion Week officially launched Oct. 10, 2023.

The involvement of local retailers was paired with an emphasis on the careers and skills that support the fashion industry.

Organizers promoted the event as an opportunity for attendees to see artists and students at work while learning about fashion- and retail-related careers. Pop-ups included tailors, vintage sellers, student designers, textile artists and hair and makeup professionals.

NDSU also had a presence through its Fashion, Apparel and Business Organization, commonly known as FABO, which was among the groups promoted as part of the event.

The educational component provided a connection between fashion as entertainment and fashion as an industry. Sewing, styling, textiles, photography, retail, makeup and modeling all represent different parts of the process displayed throughout Broadway Square.

For college students interested in creative fields, the event also offered an opportunity to see how those skills can translate into local businesses and careers.

The Downtown Fargo Fashion Show took place against the backdrop of downtown businesses that regularly sell many of the styles appearing on the runway. Rather than bringing in a lineup centered on national retailers, the show emphasized businesses operating within the Fargo-Moorhead community.

That local focus is also reflected in Fargo Fashion Week’s original mission. When the event was launched in 2023, organizers said they planned to continue featuring local designers, artists and boutiques beyond the designated week of events (Fargo Fashion Week, 2023).

Three years later, the Downtown Fargo Fashion Show brought those groups together in one location.

Despite light rain earlier in the evening, the weather cleared as models began walking the runway. Broadway Square was fashioned into a runway with the audience surrounding the space and demonstrations and vendors occupying other areas of the square.

For the models, the event offered a chance to participate directly in Fargo Fashion Week. For businesses, it provided an opportunity to put their clothing in front of the community. Makers and artists were able to demonstrate the work behind finished products.

Together, those pieces reflected what Sparrow identified as the value of the event: creating a space where different parts of Fargo’s fashion community can meet.