AUSTIN, Texas — The beads make a soft, insistent music inside a quiet studio at the University of Texas at Austin, a dry clink, the pull of thread, the steady hum of a sewing machine. Under fluorescent light, history shimmers.
A unique Selena tribute takes shape as UT graduate MFA student hand-beads, dyes, and fits three signature looks. (Credit: Amanda Solis)
For Matthew Smith, an MFA student in costume technology, this is not simply fabric and rhinestones. It is memory-stitched to music.
#TBT: Selena tribute takes shape as UT student hand-beads, dyes and fits signature looks
“This project began about two years ago,” he says.
I’m originally from Texas, so when I was thinking about my thesis project here at UT, I wanted to take a moment to showcase Texas artists.
Smith traces the idea back to when he was five years old, watching the 1997 film Selena.
In Selena, Jennifer Lopez steps into the singer’s iconic silhouette, a cinematic portrayal that sparked Matthew Smith’s journey into costume technology.
He remembers Jennifer Lopez sweeping onto the screen in “beautiful sparkly costumes,” and realizing how clothing could transform a performer.
“In that movie, we see Selena going from an ordinary woman to extraordinary when she comes onto the stage in these costumes,” he says. “That was the moment that kind of planted a seed.”
Onstage in Texas, Selena commands the crowd in a custom-designed performance outfit, blending movement, glamour, and unmistakable star power.
Now, nearly three decades after Selena Quintanilla-Pérez’s death, Smith is recreating three of her most iconic looks for his MFA thesis.
He is not simply copying them. He is studying them.
MORE | #TBT: Selena Effect exhibition blends art, fashion, personal legacy in cultural sanctuary
“I didn’t want to just replicate these,” he says.
I also wanted to understand where they came from and who inspired them and the lineage of that collaboration.
Selena Quintanilla-Pérez and designer Martin Gomez collaborated on the iconic stage looks that defined a generation, blending Tejano flair with bold, high-glamour design. (Credit: Martin Gomez)
That lineage includes Martin Gomez, the designer who worked alongside Selena and whose role is often overlooked.
“It’s also not just homage to Selena,” Smith says, “but it’s also homage to Martin, whose history is usually erased. It’s kind of bringing to the forefront the labor of costume makers and designers.”
Selena Quintanilla-Pérez and designer Martin Gomez collaborated on the iconic stage looks that defined a generation, blending Tejano flair with bold, high-glamour design. (Credit: Martin Gomez)
Smith connected with Gomez through social media after spotting a photo of the designer’s original bead box. They spoke over Zoom and later met in person.
Gomez shared stories about constructing the now-famous flamenco ruffle costume and the inspirations behind it, from Cher and Bob Mackie to Celia Cruz and Frida Kahlo.
A unique Selena tribute takes shape as UT graduate MFA student hand-beads, dyes, and fits three signature looks. (Credit: Amanda Solis)
“As audience members or fans or students, we don’t necessarily get to see the process,” Smith says.
It was important for me to learn what that process was.
In his studio, that process can look painstaking.
The purple jumpsuit Selena wore at the Houston Rodeo required Smith to recreate the glittered stretch fabric by hand.
Selena tribute takes shape as UT student hand-beads, dyes and fits signature looks
“One of the unique aspects of this look is that I applied all the glitter dots by hand,” he says. “So every dot that you see, I placed myself.”
ALSO | #TBT: From SNL to Mean Girls – UT Austin opens Lorne Michaels exhibition
He tested multiple shades of glitter, experimented with glue on stretch fabric, and ran trials to ensure the material would still move under stage lights.
For the black-and-gold flamenco look, he learned tambour beading, upside-down stitching, and from the back on a frame.
A UT Austin MFA student recreates Selena’s iconic stage looks, honoring her legacy and designer Martin Gomez in a public showcase. (Credit: Amanda Solis)
There are about 14 leaf appliqués on the bodice alone. He beaded each one, cut them out, and secured them by hand.
The third look, a green velvet tailcoat Selena wore at her final concert in Bryan, Texas, pushed him further.
A UT Austin MFA student recreates Selena’s iconic stage looks, honoring her legacy and designer Martin Gomez in a public showcase. (Credit: Amanda Solis)
Smith began with white velvet, used a chemical burnout process to etch crescent moons and vines into the fabric, then dyed it green.
“Being that I transformed fabric and transformed the fibers,” he says, “this one’s pretty special.”
A unique Selena tribute takes shape as UT graduate MFA student hand-beads, dyes, and fits three signature looks. (Credit: Amanda Solis)
The garments will not remain on dress forms. Smith is collaborating with Selena impersonator Amanda Solis, who will wear the costumes at a public showcase.
“It’s one thing to make something for a static dress form,” he says.
It looks really pretty, but isn’t really functional.
A UT Austin MFA student recreates Selena’s iconic stage looks, honoring her legacy and designer Martin Gomez in a public showcase. (Credit: Amanda Solis)
During fittings, Solis dances, lifts her arms, and runs choreography. Adjustments follow.
“That’s where the collaboration comes in,” Smith says, “figuring out how these can best serve her and her performance.”
MORE | #TBT: Leander man revives Austin’s history with vibrant digital restorations
For Solis, the green tailcoat is especially meaningful. Not many performers recreate it, and it reminds her of her mother.
A unique Selena tribute takes shape as UT graduate MFA student hand-beads, dyes, and fits three signature looks. (Credit: Amanda Solis)
“Every time she puts it on, she just kind of lights up,” Smith says. The showcase will be the first time Smith sees the costumes fully realized under lights and in motion.
“I hope they feel excitement, and I hope they feel joy,” he says.
I hope that they can experience maybe how it could have been back when Selena was wearing them.
In a state where students still wear Selena’s face on T-shirts, the performance offers something more than nostalgia. It offers movement, music, and a glimpse of what once was.
A unique Selena tribute takes shape as UT graduate MFA student hand-beads, dyes, and fits three signature looks. (Credit: Amanda Solis)
The public showcase is open to the community. To RSVP, visit: https://www.tickettailor.com/events/matthewsmith1/2023778
EDITOR NOTE: #TBT or Turning Back Time is an award-winning series of stories by CBS Austin This Morning Anchor John-Carlos Estrada. The series focuses on the history of Central Texas and its impact on the community. If you want to share a story idea with him, email him (jcestrada@cbsaustin.com) or message him on social media via Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, BlueSky, Threads, or Instagram.