Del Rio Exhibit Celebrates Selena's Fashion Legacy With Rare Photos, Original Designs

The colorized original costume designs inside "Con Tanto Amor" had never been displayed publicly before Friday evening, when organizer Matthew Lebroke opened the free exhibit at Del Rio's Firehouse Art Gallery with a straightforward premise: Selena Quintanilla's fashion has been overlooked long enough.

"I think the fashion of Selena is something that is talked about, but it's not at the forefront of her story," Lebroke told reporters at the opening. The exhibit, he said, is designed to change that by showing the design process and context behind her stage costumes to audiences who may never have considered that dimension of her artistry.

On view through April 28 at 120 E. Garfield St., "Con Tanto Amor" includes never-before-seen photographs from Selena's "Selena, Etc." fashion show alongside original stage designs colorized for the first time to foreground the craftsmanship and visual intent behind her performances. That colorization is itself a curatorial argument: by rendering the designs in full color, organizers are asking visitors to see Selena not only as a musical figure but as a visual one.

Friday's opening included a Q&A session with guests connected to Selena's creative history. Martin Gomez, a designer with ties to her costume work, and Michelle Gonzalez are both involved in the exhibit's organization. Additional artist talks and companion programming are planned across the show's remaining weeks, with organizers encouraging school and group visits given the flexible schedule.

For Del Rio, where Tejano music and cross-border cultural identity are woven into everyday life, a show that examines Selena Quintanilla's visual artistry carries meaning that stretches well beyond nostalgia. Selena, who died in 1995, shaped a generation's sense of style and stage presence across South and West Texas, and her influence runs particularly deep in communities like Del Rio that straddle the cultural geography she embodied.

The "Con Tanto Amor" exhibit is free and open through April 28 at the Firehouse Art Gallery, operated by the Del Rio Council for the Arts at 120 E. Garfield St.