Fashion Week Panel at Fincher Building from SMU-TV on Vimeo.

SMU’s five-day fashion extravaganza kicked off Monday with an opening night party at the Angelika Film Center at Mockingbird Station. Party-goers said it was a great start to the second annual SMU Fashion Week.

SMU Fashion Week Executive Director Rebecca Marin said one goal for SMU Fashion Week this year was to reach a broader audience and make it more about the Dallas community.

“The turn out was really great,” Marin said. “We had a lot of people who are outside of the SMU bubble come, which is really great and what we tried to do this year.”

The SMU Retail Club, Meadows School of the Arts and the fashion media minor program teamed up on Fashion Week (April 1-5) to provide students with diverse career exposure and education within the fashion industry. The event includes panels, events and a keynote speaker. The week culminates in a fashion show along Bishop Boulevard on Friday.

Doors opened to Monday night’s premier event at 6 p.m. The event was hosted by Lisa Petty of DFW Style Daily and Wallflower Management model Adam George.

“I really enjoyed hosting the opening ceremony of SMU Fashion Week,” said George. “It was a very good turn out and I think the rest of SMU Fashion Week is going to be a big hit because of it.”

Organizers estimated that about 100 people attended the opening event.

The event featured a local DJ and guests enjoyed food and drinks from Urban Taco and manicures by Castle Nails. Admission was free but extra cash could purchase fashion trends at pop-up shops by Movida and Urban Outfitters.

The festivities included gift bags for each attendee, sponsored by the local stores in Mockingbird Station.

SMU Fashion Week Executive Director Julia Eggleston was pleased with the turn out.

“Mockingbird station was a great opportunity for us to present our sponsors to both the SMU and Dallas audience and also a great time to give everyone a heads up of all our weeks events, including the three panels and the fashion show,” Eggleston said.

Eggleston said she was pleased to see that the diverse crowd included SMU faculty and administrators in marketing and public relations who came in support.

The opening night ended with an 8 p.m. free screening of “The September Issue” outside on the mezzanine. The 2009 documentary is a behind-the-scenes look at the publication of Vogue magazine.

The rest of the week offers many more events, the schedule can be found at www.smufashionweek.com.