Glitz, glamour, music, and captivating looks as they move along the runway. 

No, this isn’t a review of the latest happenings at the iconic New York Fashion Week, but rather a look at one of Prince George High School’s signature events of the year, the campus’ annual DECA fashion showcase.

SEE MORE PHOTOS: PGHS DECA Fashion Show Through the Years

The brainchild of the high school’s fashion marketing teacher and DECA sponsor, Mrs. Kimberly Beales, is approaching nearly 20 years of delivering a high-energy showcase of fashion, music, and choreography to hundreds of guests inside the school’s auditorium. As this year’s event nears, set for Friday, March 20, 2026, with doors opening at 7 p.m., Mrs. Beales and dozens of student models and choreographers are putting the finishing touches on their latest showcase, “Runway Rhythms,” with the theme centering on the fashion from American music hubs, like New York, California, and right in the Commonwealth of Virginia. 

Bringing Fashion Concepts to the Classroom
For Mrs. Beales, a career switcher with an extensive professional background in the fashion industry who transitioned to teaching, bringing the high school fashion show to life came naturally.

“I used to work for a bridal company named Tiffany’s as a fashion show coordinator,” Mrs. Beales explained. “Fashion shows are a big part of the business. When I came here, the fashion class was small, and we began to talk about what I wanted to do and what they wanted to do in the class. I was brand-new to teaching, but they said they loved the idea of doing a fashion show.”

She added, “At that point, I thought it would be just a one-year thing, but here we are 17 years later.”

Stepping inside Mrs. Beales’ classroom is a trip down memory lane, as the walls are adorned with promotional fliers for almost every fashion show the high school has hosted, each with its own theme and style. Those fliers serve as reminders of the show’s evolution, becoming a showcase of clothing, dance, and music. 

“Our very first fashion show was 30 minutes long,” Mrs. Beales recounted. “We had one dance scene at the end, and I wouldn’t even consider it a dance scene. For the first one here at the high school, people loved it and still talk about it, but when I look back at the video and show it to my kids, they go, ‘This is so short!’”

Behind-the-Scenes: Making the Fashion Show Come to Life
Throughout the school year, planning for the next fashion show begins, typically kicking off right after the final curtain call of the previous showcase, with procedural tasks such as booking practice and show dates at the high school. As the show approaches, like big fashion houses across the globe, the students begin tracking what’s in and what’s out in clothing and style for the upcoming seasons and determine how those trends could be incorporated into the show.

“The first thing we do is keep an eye on Fashion Week and watch trends, or trend forecasting,” Mrs. Beales explained. “We determine the fall trends for the upcoming spring season, and we start brainstorming what we could do. Then on ‘Fashion Show Fridays,’ we start coming up with themes.”

Looking at this year’s “Runway Rhythms” fashion show, the trends coming from some international fashion houses and brands lean into retro themes, harkening back to 1980s to 2000s-era looks. Through both clothing, dance, and music, those trends will come to life on Prince George High School’s auditorium runway.

“It’s really great because these trends really match with what we’re doing here this year,” Mrs. Beales detailed. “The show will travel across the United States and pull out iconic and well-known musicians. For example, Virginia would feature musical elements from artists such as Ella Fitzgerald, Pharrell Williams, and Chris Brown. We will also be visiting New York, Miami, and other cities across the country, highlighting music pulled from those states, ending in California. It’s going to be a fun event this year.”

Developing the Next Generation of Fashion Industry Leaders
The lessons of the fashion show go well beyond the bright lights and clothing selections that are showcased on stage for hundreds each year. During the lead-up to the event and well after the curtain call, students gain valuable skills that will be essential as they head into a competitive industry, including event planning and management, collaboration, communication, and critical thinking. 

“It’s not just the show itself,” Mrs. Beales shared. “They’re learning how to run an event and so much more. They learn so much through this event. Even if they are not in my class, there are students who are supporting this event. For example, we have N.B. Clements Junior High School students who pull tickets for the event, which gets them excited, and some of them end up enrolling in the class when they get to the high school because of that experience.”

Community Support for the Fashion Show
Tickets to the fashion show are often a hot commodity, drawing hundreds to the auditorium for each performance and serving as a reminder of the impact the event has on the community and the high school itself. Similar to how the show has evolved from a thirty-minute set, the demand to see the talents of the high school students on full display has grown in step. 

“When we first started, we may have sold around 200 tickets. Now we basically sell out the auditorium,” Mrs. Beales shared. “It’s not just the high school kids who come, but it’s the teachers, the moms who saw it years ago, and parents of our students bring their younger siblings in to see this event. I’ve had people months before the show premieres come up and ask when they can get tickets. It’s amazing to see, especially the students who come back each year. It has become a signature event for Prince George High School.”

With the final preparations being made ahead of Friday’s show, Mrs. Beales, in between aiding the students’ creative endeavors during classroom sessions and after-school rehearsals, finds time to reflect on the event and the joy it brings her each year, that spark that makes her excited for the next iteration of the show’s future.

“Every year, the day before the fashion show, I think, 'I’m too tired, I don’t know if I can do this anymore,' but my husband always says, 'And the next day after the fashion show, you’re going, ‘I wonder what we are going to do next year,” Mrs. Beales shared. “I love this event because it's creative and so much fun for the students and me.”