Tracee Dundas Talks New Orleans Fashion Week & Summer Style

Interview with Riverwalk Outlets

Whether it’s trends, the next New Orleans Fashion Week lineup or the chic earrings she’ll pair with her outfit the following day, Tracee Dundas is always looking ahead. The founder and creative director of New Orleans Fashion Week sat down with Riverwalk Outlets to discuss her career journey, this year’s event, what’s in style for summer 2024 and more in this exclusive Q&A interview

What sparked your love for fashion?

Tracee: Starting my career in the fashion industry stems from when I was a young girl with three older brothers and no sisters. My mother saw that I was becoming a bit of a tomboy (I’m still very into athletics and that sort of thing). My parents decided to steer my interests toward fashion and beauty, so they enrolled me in this modeling program. I quickly developed a love for all things beautiful. When I started college, I decided to study apparel design/fashion merchandising and figure out where I would land in a career.

What inspired you to create New Orleans Fashion Week in 2011?

Tracee: Although New Orleans Fashion Week’s inaugural event was in 2011, the idea blossomed after Hurricane Katrina in 2005. I was trying to figure out what the next chapter of my career would look like, and as a grown adult woman, I thought, “I’ll try to get an internship with some major fashion brand in New York City.” I just wanted to be in my element again.

Retail had returned to the city of New Orleans, but fashion hadn’t returned in a way that I could love and appreciate. So, while trying to figure out how to become an intern with a major brand in New York City, I stumbled across regional fashion weeks that were starting to happen. It took me about two years from that moment to put a plan together and conduct research. I visited various fashion weeks in different parts of the country, from Portland, Oregon, to Dallas, Texas, and one of my favorites: Charleston, South Carolina.

When is New Orleans Fashion Week 2024? What can people look forward to during this year’s event?

Tracee: As I end one fashion week event, I may pause just a moment and immediately start planning for the following year. New Orleans Fashion Week 2024 will be from September 15th through the 21st. After I set the dates, I realized that September 15th is the beginning of Hispanic Heritage Month. So, a lightbulb went off. I actually reached out to Troy Thibodeaux at Riverwalk Outlets and said, “Hey, we’ve talked about doing something on Spanish Plaza. I feel like this will be the moment to kick off New Orleans Fashion Week with all things Hispanic and Latino at Spanish Plaza.” So, that’s the vision with the kickoff. We’ll have several standalone events throughout the week, culminating in two or three evenings of runway shows featuring local designers at Gallier Hall.

We’ve got a lot of things that we’re still putting together, but know that we’re going to have this strong beginning with Riverwalk Outlets and end with the city of New Orleans at Gallier Hall. As a special events producer, I’m always trying to build something new, exciting and engaging to keep those fashion aficionados coming back for more.

Tell us about summer fashion trends for 2024. What’s on the horizon?

Tracee: Here in New Orleans, the temperature will get close to the triple digits. The summer months are always about sheerness, items that will flow and minimal fabric. You always want to lean toward breathable fabrics like cotton and linen and loose items with cool colors. We enjoy the outdoors here a lot, and it’s important that we look cool and feel cool at the same time. That look and vibe is going to be similar across the board. I’m also seeing lots of pink, yellow and items that embrace the colors of the rainbow.

Denim is always a staple. Even though it gets warm, you need that denim jacket when entering an air-conditioned space. And the little touch of a layer — you always want to have layers with your ensemble because it really completes the look. It’s the details that will complete the outfit.

What is one clothing item or accessory that you can’t live without?

Tracee: I lean toward saying a color. If someone took the color black away from my wardrobe (I understand it’s a tone, not a color), I would just be sad. I wear black all year long, even in the heat of the summer. It’s so versatile, and you can change it so effortlessly. I’m all about a monochrome look and minimalism, you know?

I also can’t live without earrings. As a young child, once your ears are pierced, it’s ingrained that you need to wear something in those holes. Adding special touches like earrings that flatter the face is so important. I’m always doing these workshops and telling the group I’m doing the workshop with to remember that your best accessory, honestly, is your smile. Let’s never forget that.

If you’d like to try your hand at slaying the runway, New Orleans Fashion Week is holding an open casting call on Saturday, June 8th, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Riverwalk Outlets! Don’t miss out — mark your calendars for this audition and for this year’s New Orleans Fashion Week from September 15th to 21st. In the meantime, take Tracee’s fashion advice and get your summer staples from Riverwalk Outlets!

About Tracee Dundas

New Orleans Fashion Week (NOFW) founder and creative director Tracee Dundas has been a fashion pioneer since receiving her apparel design/fashion merchandising degree from the University of Southwestern Louisiana. She owned and operated ABOUTFACES Model & Talent Management, one of the largest modeling agencies in Louisiana, with offices in New Orleans and Lafayette. When not producing NOFW, Tracee works as a freelance stylist, contributing fashion editor to several fashion publications and as a designer/costumer for film, TV and commercial productions.