Reveal Suits sporting some Hall Of Fame fashion

A few years ago while working as the athletic director of North Dallas High School, Carlton Dixon was pondering a career change and had an epiphany.

Dixon noticed when NBA and NFL players walk across the stage on draft night in their fancy suit, they usually open up their jacket to display a lining that’s packed with a lot of personal items which becomes topic of conversation on the various social media platforms. Dixon quickly envisioned opening a business that would cater to inquiring minds, and ran the idea by his wife, Nikki Dixon.

“When this vision came, I remember telling her somebody’s probably already doing this, and that there’s probably already suits and suit jackets that exist like this,” Dixon told Mavs.com. “For about a two-week period we were just Googling every day and researching, and it was like, ‘Nobody’s doing this.’ “

Well, Dixon and his wife are “doing this” now. He and his wife started Reveal Suits five years ago, and the company has evolved to the point where they’re in their third year with a coveted contract to outfit the lining of the iconic gold jacket of everyone who will be inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

That includes former Dallas Mavericks superstar forward Dirk Nowitzki, who will receive his Hall of Fame jacket on Friday and be enshrined amongst the all-time greats on Saturday at a star-studded ceremony in Springfield, MA.

Dixon and his wife will be on hand for the ceremonies, and he can’t wait to be in the same room again with the who’s who of the pro basketball world. He also recalled the moment – during the NCAA Final Four in Houston this past April – when he talked with Nowitzki about what treasured artifacts he wanted to have sewn inside his Hall of Fame jacket.

“We sized him, we talked him through his lining, we talked with him and his representatives throughout the process, and now to get to see the finished product, it’ll just be another surreal moment,” Dixon said. “We’ll just be happy to be a part of it again.

“We got to spent time with (the entire Hall of Fame class of 2023) at the Final Four talking about the inner lining designs, and talking about what makes us different and what’s going to make their jackets different from any other sports’ Hall of Fame that does jackets, and Dirk got real excited about that. So, to have that personal connection — not only with him, but with all of the Hall of Famers — it’s kind of like when they saw us, we were instantly a part of their family. And I just thank the Hall Of Fame for that.”

Nowitzki remembers the moment he first met Dixon and others from his company in Houston.

“We all got to walk into this room and there were all these stations – get fitting for your ring and your jacket,” Nowitzki said. “And when I went up to get my jacket they were like: ‘Mavs in the house!’ I said, ‘What are you talking about?’

“They were like: ‘We’re from Dallas. We’re a Dallas company.’ It was a cool moment.”

Another cool moment for Dixon happened when he was able to dress up the lining in Chris Bosh’s jacket when the 11-time All-Star was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2021. That’s because both Dixon and Bosh were both decorated prep basketball players who graduated from Dallas Lincoln High School.

“Bosh and I got to share some cool moments up there,” Dixon said. “Two Lincoln boys.”

Also in 2021, Dixon was able to line the insides of the Hall Of Fame jacket that belongs to Bill Russell, who entered the Hall of Fame in that year as a coach. That was a rather touching moment for Dixon, since Russell died last year.

“The very first of our jackets that was put on somebody, it was Bill Russell,” Dixon said. “I couldn’t believe it was happening.

“I remember we were at the gala where they presented the jackets, and I reached under the table and I squeezed my wife’s hand. I just couldn’t believe it. Bill Russell.”

For Dixon, the lining of the jackets takes on a personal tone for the inductees, and he obviously leaves it up to the players to reveal specifically what they want sewn inside their jacket.

“The linings are inspired by the players,” said Dixon, whose office is located in Deep Ellum. “Reveal (Suits) and the Hall Of Fame, we communicate with each of the inductees in regards to what they want their lining to look like.

“Most of the players were literally revealing their journey to the Hall Of Fame. We’ve got high school logos in there, we’ve got college representation. Some people have pictures of former coaches and mentors. A few of them got real creative. You’re going to see some nice linings.”

Dixon, who played college basketball at the University of Texas, said he watched the NBA Draft and the NFL Draft and noticed the various fashion statements the draftees often made. And he observed one recurring theme – players usually took the time to open up their jacket to reveal pictures and logos and other personal mementos.

“Watching the NBA Draft night and the NFL Draft night, I watched guys get creative with their suits when they jump on stage,” Dixon said. “A couple of guys started opening up their suits and you can see family pictures.

“If they were from another country, you can see the flag of that country, maybe. And then a couple of guys started paying tribute to their college, and they would get up and just show the pride of their college and that kind of resonated with me. And I was like, ‘I wonder if this could go from just a little draft night deal to become an actual product. At the end of the day, I still want it to remain a suit, but how could I get that representation going? I wondered if there was a delicate classy way that this could happen. . .and here it is.”

Nowitzki said among the items that will adorn the inside of his Hall of Fame jacket is: “I’m going to have my Mavs’ logo in my jacket. So, I can’t wait to see it.”

Of course, because of his ties to North Texas, Dixon said there’s a special bond when he’s preparing a jacket for a Hall of Fame player with ties to Dallas.

“Anytime you’re doing Dallas guys, you let them know what school you went to and you just start having conversations about that,” he said. “Me being a basketball kid, I might be designing jackets in some cases for players that I might have tried to mimic some of their moves.”

For Dixon, that actually happened in regards to Nowitzki.

“I remember as I was measuring (Nowitzki) I told him that in my pickup game a few days before, I shot a one-legged fadeaway (jumper, which is Nowitzki’s signature shot),” Dixon said. “And his first question was: ‘Well, did you make it?’

“I said: ‘Dirk, I don’t want to talk about all that. But I shot it.’ We had a good laugh about that.”

Dixon went on to say about his time conversing with Nowitzki: “He was nice to my wife. She was taking pictures. My sister was there as well. Just the nicest dude — him and (Nowitzki’s long-time mentor from Germany) Holger (Geschwindner). I’m looking forward to seeing them again.”

In retrospect, Dixon is overwhelmed with joy that he and his wife decided to step out in faith and trust God in their new business venture. They saw a vision, wanted something that was style personified, and now it has come to fruition.

“There’s been a few times that it didn’t look like the best gamble, but we’re here and I think we’re about to climb even higher,” Dixon said. “I was able to do a video that was produced by the NBA.

“They interviewed me last year and there was a video that went out on their platforms that was a game-changer for us from a visibility standpoint, and it just kind of helped elevate the brand even more.”

The elevation of the Reveal Suits brand will be on full display again this weekend at the Hall Of Fame ceremonies.

“It’s surreal each year that my wife and I are up there,” the 47-year old Dixon said. “We just kind of shake our head and are like: ‘Man, is this really happening?’

“We’re just excited and grateful more than anything.”

And excited and grateful for fans across the world to see what special artistic details are exactly inside those Hall Of Fame jackets. The outside of the jackets are all the same – gold.

“But those insides? Just wait,” Dixon said. “It’s going to be some really cool linings that are displayed this weekend. It’s something that’ll last for a lifetime.

“And then, I think about of all the things that (the Hall of Famers have) gotten in their great careers. They’ve never gotten something like this. Just the lifetime memory of the garment. That makes it special, man.”

Twitter: @DwainPrice