Downtown El Paso's De Soto Hotel has sat dark behind boarded windows since a fire tore through it in 2022, but on October 24, its basement will fill with music, models and reclaimed denim for one night only. Designer Janace Walker, who works under the name JunkDredz, is closing out her three-part "Death by Denim" fashion series with a finale called "Death by Denim: New Age," staged inside the fire-damaged hotel at 309 E. Mills Ave. Tickets are limited and already moving fast on Eventbrite.
According to KVIA, the show marks the last event under the Death by Denim name and offers one of the first public chances in years to see inside the historic building. Walker serves as creative director and is also listed as the event's media contact. The station reports ticket sales are moving quickly, with only a limited number remaining.
A Two-Hour Descent Into the Hotel's Haunted Basement
Per event listings on Eventbrite, ticketholders will descend into the De Soto's basement between 8:30 p.m. and 9:11 p.m. before a two-hour runway presentation that weaves in stories of real historic experiences inside the building, wrapping up at 11:11 p.m. The setting isn't incidental: before the fire, the basement was considered the center of the hotel's paranormal reputation and a regular stop for El Paso Ghost Tours investigations, according to KISS FM.
The De Soto first opened in December 1905 as the Great Northern Hotel, and a 2017 El Paso County architectural survey determined it eligible for the National Register of Historic Places, according to digie.org. That landmark status didn't spare the building on February 4, 2022, when a four-alarm fire gutted the then-unoccupied hotel, collapsing its roof and fourth floor as nearly 70 firefighters battled the blaze, as reported by The Prospector.
The blaze forced emergency evacuations of nearby businesses along Mills, Stanton and Franklin streets, including The Reagan, MAC's and Elemi, per KISS FM. Gas and water service to the hotel had already been disconnected since November 2021. The El Paso Fire Marshal's Office closed its investigation in March 2022 with the cause listed as undetermined, saying it could not rule out either an electrical equipment failure or an intentional or reckless human act, according to a KVIA report.
A $2.4 Million Deal to Save the Landmark
The fire's aftermath became a municipal balancing act. In March 2023, El Paso City Council considered an amended Chapter 380 economic development agreement with property owner 309 Mills LLC that raised the minimum required private investment to $2.4 million to rehabilitate the fire-damaged structure into a hotel, according to a city council presentation posted on Scribd. The project was projected to generate $1.9 million in tax revenue for the city.
A Trilogy That Began in a Funeral Home
"Death by Denim: New Age" is the final chapter in a series Walker began in 2024 at Martin Funeral Home, according to The Prospector. The second installment, "Death by Denim: Rebirth Edition," took over El Paso's historic Concordia Cemetery on October 10, 2025, and required every look to be composed of at least 90% denim; tickets for that show reportedly sold out months in advance.
Walker, a North Carolina native now based in El Paso, built the series around denim as a metaphor for flesh and the stages of human growth, framing each show within the city's Día de los Muertos traditions, the outlet reported. Designers at the Concordia Cemetery show represented phases ranging from childhood to rebirth. For the finale, Walker's Death by Denim brand describes its mission as honoring creativity, storytelling, and bold artistic expression tied to the cycle of life and death, inviting audiences to see reclaimed denim as wearable art.
