An open letter to Neiman Marcus, Exemplar Luxury Group (formerly known as Saks Global), and the city of Dallas

Dear Neiman Marcus,

Dallassites, patrons, and devotees would like to formally call for the Flagship Neiman Marcus in Downtown Dallas to reopen as a ticketed museum and event venue. Additional proposals include: 1) reopening as a Costume Institute gallery for exhibitions to showcase the Texas Fashion Collection’s over 20,000 archival garments and accessories (which includes Adrian for Neiman Marcus) and 2) having the store be a home for Dallas College’s El Centro Campus, which features a specialized, academic Theatrical Costuming Certificate program alongside student-led design collections. Both proposals encompass bridging academic and popular understandings of fashion history. All the above are proposals are of true substance and possibility. They would bring the fashion community of North Texas together in a way that directly aligns with Neiman Marcus’s mission statement. “Bold, memorable, trustworthy, all heart, and best.” The NMG Way.

 

Yes, the culture of retail shopping has shifted over the past 112 years, but that doesn’t mean that there aren’t other profitable ways to make use of such a beloved landmark—the pinnacle of luxury, the epitome of history, and a true Dallas staple. Currently, roughly 95 department stores are on the National Register of Historic Places, yet not one serves as a monument to its history. Department stores historically functioned as a place of commerce; however, they became some of the first female-oriented spaces in the country. Representing financial and social freedom, department stores solidified women as a viable economic market and transformed modern retail. Many women obtained their first jobs at department stores, allowing them to experience financial security for the first time in their lives. 

 

The Neiman Marcus flagship store was co-founded by a woman, Carrie Marcus Neiman, one of the few to bear that distinction. Carrie aimed for the women of Dallas to have continuing access to fineries usually located in New York or Europe, an aspect of the business model Carrie orchestrated herself. Traveling to the fashion capitals of the world, Carrie personally cemented Neiman Marcus’s continued fashion ethos of elegance and style. In the 1930s, she orchestrated some of the industries’ most successful fashion show, elevating Neiman Marcus into one of the most well-known suppliers of couture to American women in the country. 

 

In addition to Marcus Neiman’s direct contribution, the flagship Dallas store has hosted countless important figures since its opening in 1914. Men and women who walked through the iconic entrance include James Dean, Elizabeth Taylor, Christian Dior, Coco Chanel, Yves St. Laurent, Gloria Vanderbilt, and Karl Lagerfeld. This unparalleled history of a singular location has continuously justified the building’s historical designation, and we believe Neiman Marcus’s contribution to history deserves eternal recognition. 

 

You have a unique opportunity to celebrate the life of Carrie Marcus Neiman, the history of Neiman Marcus’s flagship store, and properly convey to future generations the meaning of the department store for millions of women from all walks of life. We believe by creating this unique attraction, Neiman Marcus can lead the way for this undervalued piece of women’s history to finally obtain the attention it has long deserved. 

 

Unfortunately, even living descendants of the Marcus family have no autonomy with what happens next to the over a century old architectural marvel. Well-preserved from the inside out, Neiman Marcus Downtown Dallas deserves a second chance. At the end of the day, what do we, as a city, want our legacy to be? The city of Dallas is already notoriously known for bulldozing, closing, and not appreciating its own rich history. Neiman Marcus has the opportunity to prove the city wrong. The flagship store is what put Dallas on the map, yet, people are already slowly forgetting that key part of history as new generations enter the world and there are lesser and lesser living Dallassites to tell the grand story of THE Neiman Marcus. The risk of its doors being closed for good is the risk of history becoming obsolete. We need to continue to write and tell the sensational story that is the flagship that closed its doors September 30, 2026.   

 

Neiman Marcus flagship is our Tiffany’s to New York City. Dallassites and aficionados worldwide can all agree on one synonymous thing, and that is the fact that the Downtown Dallas location is a national treasure that deserve to live to see many, many more days.

 

To the decision makers capable of making change, would you care to join the honorable side of history with the rest of us?

Sincerely,

The People

 

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