The Fashion Fling was started in 2001 by Laura Brewer, a sewing enthusiast, to showcase the creativity of several young people in Raton, New Mexico. The inaugural fashion show, held in the Raton Community Center on Third Street, was titled “Darling in Denim,” and featured unique designs made from scraps of denim which had been donated by several community members.
In later years, several more Fashion Fling programs culminated in fashion shows that were held in the lower level of the Raton Convention Center, the Patchwork Phoenix store on First Street, and finally in the Shuler Theater, a 1914 renovated opera house located in downtown Raton.