Dallas is full of creatives who are challenging the established norms, but working in their respective fields, they may not ever come across each other.

That notion is what led Devin Edwards to launch Trend, a new event series which works to bring boundary-pushing creatives together.

“It’s a spot where creatives, innovators, tech people, entrepreneurs, [and] market people can be under one roof for one night.”
Devin Edwards

“A creative is somebody that is finding interesting ways to grab your attention and that can be in any industry — advertising, art in general. People trying to create things or altar things that makes you stop in your tracks,” said Edwards, who works as a creative director and brand strategist in Dallas.

Trend gatherings are meant to be organic without the formality and pressures of similar networking events.

“It’s a spot where creatives, innovators, tech people, entrepreneurs, [and] market people can be under one roof for one night. That way, ultimate collaboration happens,” Edwards said.

Besides syncing up individuals for future projects, Edwards views the events as a way to generate job leads for creatives and, in general, leave the attendees feeling inspired.

INAUGURAL EVENT FEATURES CREATIVES IN FASHION, PHOTOGRAPHY & VISUAL ARTS

The inaugural event Saturday evening at The Dallas Entrepreneur Center brought out a cross-section of individuals for mingling and learning about the featured artists such as visual creative Franco Perry, who creates unique material for clients using photography and other digital platforms.

One of his distinct techniques involves creating “gifs” by sequencing together pictures rather than a video. This allows the animation to have distinguished quality for the brand, he said.

“My goal for this year is to drop more content based more on what I want to do, not what I’m hired to do. To create content from a simple basis to a really complex moving gif,” Perry said.

“A lot of what I do, it’s shown on the body as fashion, but I see it more as fine art and sculpture presented on the body.”

Molly Margaret

Fashion designer Molly Margaret told Trend attendees she sees herself, first and foremost,as an artist. She receives inspiration from the natural and built world for her bold colored and textured designs she considers as works of art.

“A lot of what I do, it’s shown on the body as fashion, but I see it more as fine art and sculpture presented on the body,” Margaret said.

The last featured creative was Jeremy Biggers, who discussed how he develops his contemporary artwork by painting different segments of the artwork, then moving them around digitally to create a full piece.

He’s worked with big brand names such as McDonald’s, Nike, and the Dallas Cowboys. At Saturday’s event, Biggers showcased one of his paintings used by a band for their album cover, and explained the process of collaborating with clients in a difficult industry.

“I treat every client that comes to me as a problem that I need to solve. It’s just a matter of finding out how to solve that problem in the most efficient way possible,” Biggers said.

BRIDGING THE COLLABORATION GAP

Edwards said Dallas is full of “determined people trying to push the limits.” However, he said that collaboration in Dallas is not as strong as it could be. He hopes Trend will be a driving force in bridging this gap for the future.

Trend will hold events every three months in different venues. Edwards said to keep an eye out for artist Temi Coker, and young Dallas filmmaker German Torres, both of whom will be included in an upcoming panel.

To keep track of the next Trend events and other news, follow @trenddallas on Instagram.