RD Fashion Week pays tribute to Leonel Lirio for his 40 years in Dominican fashion

Santo Domingo.- Dominican fashion celebrated four decades of creativity and career milestones this Thursday. “RD Fashion Week 2026” opened its runways with a tribute to the 40-year career of Dominican designer Leonel Lirio.

Under the slogan “Fashion with a purpose”, the platform celebrated its seventeenth edition with a commitment to emerging Dominican talent, in a gala held at the Marriott Santo Domingo Piantini, where it brought together designers, entrepreneurs, personalities linked to the industry, fashion influencers, media, and special guests to kick off three days dedicated to fashion, creativity, and talent.

Leonel Lirio, Melkis Díaz, and Alejandro Fajardo starred in the evening with their runway proposals, in a production that combined different perspectives on design and featured the celebration of Lirio’s four-decade career as one of its most significant moments.

RD Fashion Week 2026 celebrates the career of Leonel Lirio and bets on new talent

During the tribute, Lirio thanked Melkis Díaz for placing her workshop in her hands. Likewise, she recalled her beginnings in the industry from a very young age and the path traveled, also mentioning the designer Jorge Diep, founder of the Dominican Fashion Week.

The designer’s legacy was also highlighted by communicators linked to the world of fashion, who emphasized his contribution to Dominican culture, his experience, and his commitment to new generations.

“Leonel Lirio is a great representation that fashion is culture… The truth is that Leonel Lirio is a master; many of us in the fashion world internally call him an encyclopedia, because if you want to know something, ask Leonel Lirio regarding history and technique,” highlighted the communicator and fashion professional, Sofia Sanabria.

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“Delighted to always be able to support Dominican fashion. Today I come to support Melkis Díaz, I am wearing her designs and truly happy that for this year they also took me into account to be here on such a special night,” pointed out the urban genre artist, Indhira Luna.

Meanwhile, merengue artist Ala Jaza expressed his admiration for the world of fashion, highlighting his taste for elegance, style, and proposals with a clean and sophisticated aesthetic. Likewise, he expressed his pride and gratitude for being part of this important Dominican fashion event, an opportunity that allows him to learn and continue connecting with national talent.

“I love fashion, I love elegance, style, always clean. And as I told you, it’s a pleasure, a source of pride that they invited me here so that one can learn,” expressed the performer of the song “Con Que Te Olvido”.

For Melkis Díaz, director of RD Fashion Week, this combination of experience and new opportunities is part of the essence that the platform has built over its 17 editions.

“Tonight we celebrate 40 years of Leonel Lirio’s creative history, but we also celebrate permanence, passion, and the ability to reinvent oneself. RD Fashion Week wants to continue being that stage where we recognize those who have left a mark and, at the same time, open doors for new generations. That coexistence between experience, the present, and the future is part of what we want to tell through our fashion,” expressed Díaz.

Under the slogan “Fashion with a purpose”, RD Fashion Week 2026 continues to commit to a vision that transcends the exhibition of collections. The platform promotes support for new talent, inclusion, exchange between national and international designers, and the projection of Dominican fashion as part of the Country Brand.

The 2026 edition takes place from October 15 to 17, at the Marriott Piantini Hotel, Santo Domingo with an agenda that integrates fashion shows and activities designed to generate connections and make visible the different expressions and protagonists of the industry.

The opening night thus marked the beginning of three days of fashion, but it also left a symbolic image of this seventeenth edition: celebrating the trajectory of those who have paved the way while opening spaces for those who are just beginning to walk it.

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