An extant asset
Much like the Las Vegas strip upon which it sits, the Fashion Show mall of today is much different from its previous incarnations. In times past, the section of Las Vegas Boulevard running through Paradise offered little more than gambling, showgirls and midnight buffets. In the same way, Fashion Show comes from much, dare I say, humbler beginnings.
1- Fashion Show Las Vegas from across the Strip. 2 to 6- The three tier outdoor Plaza on Las Vegas Boulevard.
Today, the size of Fashion Show Las Vegas can be deceiving when viewed from the Strip. Three stories of curved glass façades topped by a unique structure known as the Cloud is only visible for a short length. But running to the west is nearly two million square feet of additional leasable area surrounded by eight different full line or junior anchors.
Fashion Show Mall lease plan ca. 1981. View the full PDF version here.
After passing the newly modernized entranceways and food court, Fashion Show yields to its modest beginnings. The easternmost half of the main concourse serves as the original center, with straight line corridors topped by basic trim skylights. Earth tones are in abundance here, which sets the stage, literally, for the more modern western portion.
1 & 2- The Neiman Marcus exterior. 3- Macy’s from outside. 4- The Nordstrom façade. 5 & 6- The entrance to the food court from the Plaza.
The point where the two segments meet seems as though they Frankensteined two completely different retail facilities together. The earth tones give way to modern steel and silver elements, as well as an additional mezzanine. The space is brighter overall with vaulted ceilings housing multiple LED message boards, adding color and motion to the space.
Fashion Show Mall lease plan ca. 1996. View the full PDF version here.
In this section is housed a protracted court area that was designed with a retractable runway so that the retail destination could live up to its name as the Fashion Show. Underneath girders holding studio lights, there were no models working that runway upon my visit and the only music playing seemed to be emanating from Hot Topic.
1 to 4- The Fashion Show food court on the third level. 5- One of the restaurants on the second level just beneath the food court. 6- The original main concourse.
Truthfully, however, I was hoping for a quite a bit more from Fashion Show. Considering its location in the heart of the Las Vegas Strip in the shadows of entertainment giants like The Wynn, Treasure Island and The Palazzo, I wanted it to be more in your face extravagant and decadent. All it turned out to be was another great big shopping mall, without all of the extras that peers like Mall of America and West Edmonton boast.
Scenes of the older half of Fashion Show Las Vegas, originally opened in 1981.
Fashion Show Mall burst onto the scene in 1981 as a much different version of what people see today. Developed by the Summa Corporation just south of another of their properties, The Frontier Hotel and Casino, it was the third major enclosed shopping center in the Las Vegas valley. Boasting a slew of luxury retailers new to the region, the complex was built to cater to the city’s large number of tourists.
Fashion Show Mall lease plan ca. 2011. View the full PDF version here.
Opening amidst retail options that included mainly liquor stores and souvenir shops, Fashion Show Mall brought the first major collection of notable retail to the Strip. Local and regional anchors Diamond’s, Goldwaters and Bullock’s were joined by national luxury retailers Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus with their first outlets in The Silver State.
1- The older portion is much less extravagant than the early 2000s expansion. 2- Forever 21. 3- Macy’s Men’s Store. 4- Neiman Marcus, the only anchor still in their original 1981 building. 5- Macy’s main store. 6 to 8- Where the newer half meets the older half of Fashion Show Las Vegas.
The success of Fashion Show was the catalyst for bringing a more diverse selection of dining and retail to the evolving destination. It wasn’t long before the facility was joined by competitors such as the Forum Shops at Caesars, The Miracle Mile Shops at Planet Hollywood and The Grand Canal Shoppes at the Venetian resort.
The much more Vegas-y 2003 expansion.
During its first decade, Goldwaters was replaced by The May Company then Robinsons-May while Dillard’s moved into Diamond’s space upon the latter’s acquisition. Bullock’s transitioned to Macy’s while Saks Fifth Avenue, despite their treasured location on the center’s front façade abutting Las Vegas Boulevard, was in desperate need of additional sales space.
Fashion Show Mall Mallmanac ca. 2022. View the full PDF version here.
Not long after a small renovation in 1993, The Rouse Company took ownership of the complex from Summa and soon embarked on an ambitious renovation and large-scale expansion. Fifteen acres of vacant land to the facility’s west was purchased from The Mirage with construction beginning in 2000 on the extended wing.
1 to 5- A walk through the newer concourse. 6- The Dick’s Sporting Goods entrance.
By then lagging behind its more recent competitors, the state-of-the-art Fashion Show Mall debuted in 2003. The shopping center was transformed into a 1.8 million square foot behemoth. The smaller Saks store on the boulevard was demolished and replaced with a triple tiered plaza including the Cloud structure and an expansive food court.
1 & 2- Dillard’s at the far western end of Fashion Show Las Vegas. 3 & 4- The mall entrance for Nordstrom. 5 & 6- Saks Fifth Avenue’s newer location. Their original was where the Plaza is now.
Sak Fifth Avenue moved to a larger space just to the west of Macy’s while Dillard’s relocated to the new concourse’s flanking end, more than doubling their square footage. Their previous spot was later usurped by Forever 21 when Lord & Taylor pulled out of the project. They were joined by trade area newcomers Nordstrom and Bloomingdale’s, with Macy’s opening a second location upon the departure of Robinsons-May in 2013.
Fashion Show Mall Mallmanac ca. 2024. View the full PDF version here.
Bloomingdale’s tenure was short-lived with Dick’s Sporting Goods moving into their digs in the mid-2010s. The anchor lineup remains the same to this day with Neiman Marcus, Forever 21, Macy’s, Saks Fifth Avenue, Nordstrom, Dick’s and Dillard’s joined by coveted brands such as Bellami, Coach, Hugo Boss, Marc Jacobs and Sheikh joining them.
Fashion Show Las Vegas’s multi-purpose events area, including a retractable runway for, what else, fashion shows.
Fashion Show Mall has evolved over the decades much like the Strip surrounding it. With its eight anchors and nearly 250 shops, it remains a retail juggernaut in a city filled with juggernauts. Though Vegas has a penchant for completely discarding anything past its prime to be replaced by whatever’s trending, I don’t see the Fashion Show going anywhere.
