Iconic Fashion Designer reflects on his career and the exhibit at The Wittliff Collections at Texas State University.

Selena’s Lasting Impact on Fashion and Culture

Although Selena Quintanilla is best known for her music and iconic songs, she is also widely remembered for her distinctive style and innovative approach to fashion. During the early to mid 1990s, Selena partnered and collaborated with fashion designer and retail executive Martin Gomez, who played a pivotal role in capturing the essence of her style and who designed for the singer. “Designed by Martin Gomez exclusively for Selena” became the fashion label the two created together, reflecting their shared creative vision and collaborative process. Now, fans are in for a special treat as San Marcos’s Texas State University recently opened a new exhibit titled “The Selena Effect,” featured in the Wittliff Collections research archive center and museum. 

Fans can see unique and rare items from Selena’s life and career including clothing, original sketches, and photographs that highlight her influence on music, fashion, and Tejano culture. Through these artifacts, the exhibit explores how Selena’s legacy continues to inspire new generations and solidifies her lasting impact as a cultural icon in the Mexican-American community and beyond. The exhibit, curated by Wittliff Texas Music Curator Hector Saldana, notably features items from artistic creatives including photographers Al Rendón and John Dyer, along with memorabilia from Martin Gomez’s personal collection including a never-before-seen diary kept by the designer. It should be noted that throughout Gomez’s accomplished career, he has worked as an executive in fashion retail and in global sourcing and product development. He got his big break into fashion while in college. 

From South Texas to High Fashion: Martin Gomez’s Career Journey

Reflecting on his own life and professional career, Gomez looks back at his journey, “I grew up in the Southside of San Antonio,” Gomez said. “I eventually received my bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice at St. Mary’s University with the expectation to go to law school. After I graduated, I worked for a couple of law firms and then basically decided to go to design school. Growing up, it wasn’t an easy childhood, I would say, simply because I was a creative. I liked to play with dolls when I was a little boy, and having older brothers you soon realize that wasn’t the thing a Mexican boy should be doing. I had always liked playing with pretty things. So when I think of my life now and what I’ve done in the last 30 something years it’s crazy.”

Gomez eventually attended the Parsons School of Design and later went on to the University of the Incarnate Word, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in Fashion Design and Merchandising. While in college, Gomez participated in a mentorship program with Dillard’s in Corpus Christi which kickstarted his successful career in fashion. “I was inducted into the executive training program for Dillard’s department stores, and the intention of the executive training program was to prepare you for an executive job which is why that placement was so coveted. But during that time in Corpus is when I met Selena, in June of 1993. I was having lunch one day and she popped into Woolworth’s Five and Dime,” he said.

Fashion Designer Martin Gomez and His Creative Partnership With Selena

It was this chance encounter for Gomez that led to an enduring friendship and professional collaboration between the two. At the time, Gomez was unaware of Selena’s notoriety and popularity, but was informed of her status by a fellow co-worker. “I remember I was just being coy, and I got a napkin and walked over and said ‘I hear you’re famous’ and she saw my name tag and said she was a huge Dillard’s customer. And I just said, ‘Well I’m an executive in training, but I’m really a fashion designer’ and then she got excited and said, ‘Oh my God, I love fashion!’. And that’s literally how we started talking. She gave me her number with an autograph because she wanted to talk about fashion, but I never called her because I didn’t know who she was and initially didn’t want to work for her,” Gomez recalls. 

Although Gomez was set on becoming an executive at the time, he eventually went into business with Selena and became her exclusive designer. “I started working with her by the end of June 1993. We were together all the time, whenever she was in town. She had just released The Live album which was before the Grammy. At that time, she was already becoming really big in the U.S., and around July is when she started telling me she wanted to open stores. She truly was a visionary.” From 1993 and on, Gomez began designing and working with Selena on her costumes including the famous purple disco outfit she wore to the Houston Astrodome concert. “That was her design, but I illustrated it and made it for her,” Gomez adds. Gomez also designed the purple sequin jumpsuit Selena was buried in, the silver glass dress with the bodysuit underneath it along with the white floral armor dress she wore to her and Gomez’s fashion show finale in 1994. “There’s a ton of them,” Gomez said. “The weirdest thing is now with “The Selena Effect”, people are starting to understand that there’s a sketch attached to every costume that no one’s ever seen.” 

Inside “The Selena Effect” Exhibit at The Wittliff Collections

Gomez is excited for others to see Selena’s creative side beyond her music. The exhibit showcases original fashion sketches, accessories, and pieces that were created during that time period. “The exhibit is just amazing, and showcases a bit of the history behind her fashion. We did the exhibit small with the intention that it could grow, and the exhibit is maybe not even a fourth of what I own,” he said. “There’s sketches that have never been seen, and it’s just a really cool and beautiful exhibit, with the intention that it could grow a hundred fold because of the stuff I have that has never been showcased before. 

“I do have more costumes and outfits, including the original twelve. In fashion terms or design terms, twelve is the first sample you make of a garment in the correct fabric with the understanding that you’re going to make corrections in. So I have the denim with leather trim that she wore to the opening of the San Antonio store that no one’s ever seen, and the garments that were showcased in the fashion show on TV for the Christina show in Miami. We only wanted to do two for the exhibit, and I like the ones that were chosen, although I have a lot more. The chiffon pants would have been part of our collection, and it has sketches the way I used to sketch for her review. It’s really enlightening on what this legacy has grown into, and for me it’s actually taking my place in the legacy because I pulled away from it for so long.”

Martin Gomez Reflects on Selena’s Legacy 30 Years Later

In early 1995, Gomez left to pursue new ventures, a decision prompted in part by the increasingly unsettling nature of Yolanda’s behavior. “I left at the end of January 1995, 60 days before Selena passed, and the weirdest thing is we kept talking and at one point she had asked me to do something for her,” Gomez recalls. Now retired, Gomez is an adjunct professor, lecturer, consultant, and enjoys travelling and spending time with his wife and two children. He is currently working on a book on his life and career to be released at some point in the future. Reflecting further, Gomez says, “One thing about Selena, and I keep telling people this, is that as famous as she was, she never truly realized just how famous she had become. I think today, she would be amazed at where her legacy is, and I think she’d be so excited about the makeup line and I could just hear her giggle because it would be something that would be so incredible for her. It just makes me sad because that’s probably the direction she was heading in regards to fashion, beauty,  perfume, and accessories. But I think now, 30 years later, it’s fascinating and humbling to witness what the legacy has become and how important it is to so many people.”

Follow Martin Gomez on Instagram here. 

Visiting “The Selena Effect” Exhibit

“The Selena Effect” is open to the public with free admission through December 2026. 

Location: Texas State University, 601 University Dr, San Marcos, TX 78666

7th floor, Albert B. Alkek Library

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Cover photo courtesy The Wittliff Collections at Texas State University.

Originally from San Antonio, Jenny Castro has a passion for writing, travel, and discovering new topics. She loves Tex-Mex food, Tejano music and George Strait. Check her out on Instagram to keep up with her work and latest adventures.