Fort Works Art is turning its Cultural District gallery into a runway for one night, staging a fashion and art experience called The Marilyn Effect alongside an exhibition of Marilyn Monroe photographs by Lawrence Schiller. The event pairs Schiller's historic images with looks from Western wear maker M.L. Leddy's and luxury retailer Forty Five Ten, plus styling from Fort Worth silk brand Wild Silks. Tickets start at $250.
The timing carries extra weight for the gallery. According to CultureMap Fort Worth, the event doubles as a showcase of Schiller's photographs alongside a runway presentation, a gallery night, and a preview of a project called Collected by Christi. The gallery night also unveils Threads of Us, an interactive fashion work created by event guests. As PaperCity Magazine reports, the show lands during a double milestone: 2026 marks both the 100th anniversary of Monroe's birth on June 1, 1926, and the 10th anniversary of Fort Works Art itself, with gallery owner Lauren Saba organizing the event to commemorate both.
A Photographer's Front-Row Seat to Monroe's Final Days
The photographs at the center of the show trace back to a pivotal moment in Hollywood history. Schiller captured his now-iconic poolside images of Monroe in May and June 1962 on the set of Something's Got to Give, the same account notes, the actress's final and uncompleted film before her death that August at age 36. Monroe earned $100,000 for the role while her contemporary Elizabeth Taylor made $1 million for Cleopatra, the outlet adds.
Schiller was only 25 when he talked his way into the poolside shoot, according to Taschen. He reportedly convinced Monroe to let him shoot the photos by telling her she was already famous and could make him famous too, a pitch that drew a teasing reply from the star that photographers could easily be replaced. She agreed to the shoot anyway. Fort Worth Art previously covered a related chapter of Schiller's Monroe work when Hoodline reported on the Hotel del Coronado exhibit extension of his Something's Got to Give photographs.
Fifty Silk Scarves Tie Fashion to the Archive
To mark the exhibition, Fort Worth Art and Wild Silks collaborated with Schiller himself to produce a limited-edition run of just 50 silk scarves, per the same PaperCity account, each featuring his June 1, 1962 photograph taken on Monroe's final day on the movie set. That image previously appeared on the cover of LIFE magazine in 1962, the outlet notes. Wild Silks was launched in March 2024 by Fort Worth native Christi Braswell, who founded the luxury textile brand after searching for custom mulberry silk linings for inherited vintage fur coats, according to 360 West Magazine. The brand manufactures 100% mulberry silk printed by Italian textile mills that adhere to Hermès quality standards, the magazine reports.
Wild Silks has built momentum quickly since its launch. The brand received a notable boost in March 2026 when national lifestyle brand Kendra Scott spotlighted Braswell during a Women's History Month entrepreneurship feature, PaperCity Magazine reported separately, a collaboration that released limited-edition silk accessories across North Texas retail stores.
Western Boots Meet Luxury Retail on the Same Runway
The runway lineup bridges two very different corners of Fort Worth style. M.L. Leddy's is a Texas Western wear maker established in 1922 that has operated its flagship store in the Fort Worth Stockyards since 1941, according to Texas Highways. The fourth-generation family business is known for custom handmade leather boots and silverwork, the outlet notes.
Forty Five Ten represents the opposite end of that spectrum. The Dallas-born luxury retailer expanded westward into Fort Worth in March 2026, opening a 4,000-square-foot boutique in the Cultural District, according to Modern Luxury. That store marked the retailer's first new location since it consolidated operations during the 2020 pandemic, having previously operated exclusively from its Dallas flagship on Main Street. The Fort Worth outpost at 3220 West 7th Street, designed by local firm Ibañez Shaw Architecture, was built specifically to blend avant-garde luxury fashion with gallery-style fine art displays, the same report states, and sits just blocks from the Kimbell Art Museum and Modern Art Museum.
Behind the Gallery That's Hosting It All
Fort Works Art itself has its own decade-long arc. The gallery began in 2014 as an event-based pop-up art venture founded by Lauren Saba, then known as Lauren Childs, before establishing its permanent brick-and-mortar space in the Cultural District in 2016, according to Voyage Dallas. The gallery operates alongside the non-profit Gallery of Dreams to support regional artists, the outlet notes.
Guests at The Marilyn Effect, held at Fort Worth Art's location at 2100 Montgomery St., will take in the Schiller exhibition, the runway presentation, light bites, cocktails, champagne, shopping, photography, and chances to meet participating designers and creative partners. The event is subject to change due to weather or other concerns. Tickets start at $250.
