Former Dallas Lincoln All-American basketball player Carlton Dixon left his life as a local high school athletic director to start his own business.
Now, Reveal Suits is one of the growing brands in the fashion industry. Dixon is outfitting Hall of Famers like Dirk Nowitzki, Chris Bosh, and many others.
HOW CARLTON DIXON BECAME FOUNDER AND CEO OF 'REVEAL SUITS'
Ten years ago the fashion vision hit South Dallas native Carlton Dixon. He was watching the draft and researched that no company provided custom-made lining inside of their suit jackets for players, as they showed off their custom apparel.
Get top local stories in DFW delivered to you every morning. Sign up for NBC DFW's News Headlines newsletter.
“I kind of wondered, 'Man, could there be a brand that could go to the market that represents, that could show you representing your school inside of the suit, not just on draft night or not just walking into the games?' And, you know, there started the vision.”
Dixon didn't even know how to take measurements.
Sports Connection
Connecting you to your favorite North Texas sports teams as well as sports news around the globe.
“Didn’t know anything about it, but I knew it was game time and I had to learn,” he said.
Dixon, an athletic director and coach at North Dallas High School, set his sights on becoming an entrepreneur.
“I was an A.D. during the day, and I was a student of fashion at night, learning about the industry, learning about fabrics, fashion, supply chain, measurement — all of these things that were foreign to me,” Dixon said.
Dixon went to work. His first big break came when he landed a contract to make Reveal Suits for Florida State and Baylor football teams.
CARLTON DIXON USES HARDWOOD MINDSET TO SEW HIS SUCCESS
He branched out into making a women’s line but learned a humbling lesson when the apparel he made for LSU taught him about gender sizing.
"I tell you those suits came back disasters, because I had not taken into account, nor had I learned, that it is a different pattern-making scheme, it was a different set of measurements that needed to be -- not only just the hip, but the lower hip, the upper hip, they typically wear theirs higher on the waist," said Dixon. "Took none of that into account, and that was a very humbling, very humbling experience."
Dixon approached the setback with a hardwood mindset. "It's a turnover. Got dunked on. Next play," he said.
'REVEAL SUITS' WORN BY COLLEGE PLAYERS AND HALL OF FAMERS
In 2024 the dream is in full effect, the founder and CEO of Reveal Suits is a successful fashion designer outfitting his alma mater, The University of Texas.
Today Dixon has licenses for 80 colleges and is generating over a million dollars a year.
His brand is designed to reveal something about the person — alma mater, favorite team, and even family.
His company landed the apparel contracts to suit up inductees for the College Football Hall of Fame, National Soccer Hall of Fame and members of the Basketball Hall of Fame in his custom blazers.
“Do you know the first person that put on my jacket, that ever put on our Hall of Fame jacket, was Bill Russell? Right? It’s just like, 'Are you serious?'" said Dixon. "There is still that feeling of, that surreal feeling.”
FROM SOUTH DALLAS TO THE RED CARPET
Dixon's mindset came from growing up in Dallas. As a teen, he was a high school All-American in basketball. He helped lead Lincoln High School to a state championship in 1993.
"For us, coming out of South Dallas, there was kind of a chip on the shoulder, right? People don't think good comes out of South Dallas, well, we'll show 'em."
After receiving offers across the nation, Dixon decided to play college hoops down I-35.
"Ultimately University of Texas, Tom Penders, showed me what I wanted to see, and it was close to home, loved the style of play, and so that's ultimately how I landed at the University of Texas."
The Texas Ex didn't play in the NBA, but he did make it to the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. He partnered with the hall to make jackets for the inductees.
Last summer, Dixon collaborated with Dallas Mavericks legend Dirk Nowitzki to design his orange Reveal jacket.
Chris Bosch is an eleven-time NBA All-Star, two-time NBA Champion, an Olympic gold medalist, and like Dixon a former state champion at Dallas Lincoln High School.
Dixon has known Bosch since he was a teenager and in 2021 they shared a hoop dreams experience.
"That year, when I got to make his jacket and we shared a moment on the red carpet, and we hugged and we were just like 'Man, we made it, we're both here at the Hall of Fame' that was one of the most special moments and parts of Reveal Suits. You know, just two kids out of Lincoln High School."
WHAT'S NEXT FOR 'REVEAL SUITS'?
Up next for Reveal Suits, the golf world. Dixon received the PGA of America community impact award and has already started making blazers for smaller tournaments the PGA Headquarters held in Frisco last year.
