The Kenneth Barlis Fashion Show: 300 Looks, One Night, and a $25 Student Ticket

Overview

San Diego does not get many of these. On Saturday, October 24, Kenneth Barlis is putting 300 looks down a runway in his own city in a single night — what his studio is calling their biggest show yet.

Barlis is not a local hobbyist. He was born and raised in Zamboanga in the Philippines, is based between San Diego and Los Angeles, and competed on Project Runway season 19 — Fox 5 San Diego has called him the first Filipino-American to appear on the show. Bravo lists his clients as Carrie Underwood, Kehlani and Offset. He has shown at New York and Los Angeles fashion weeks, judged Miss USA, runs a bridal line, and has 74,000 people following the work.

So this is a designer with a national résumé staging his largest show at home.

Here's the thing worth knowing before you go, because it tells you what kind of event this is meant to be: a student with a valid ID gets in for $25.

General admission is $100. The student ticket is a quarter of that, and it isn't a token gesture buried in the fine print — it's one of four tiers sold right alongside the others. It fits the rest of what Barlis does. He started the KB School of Fashion in 2018 to train models for pageants and runway, he made masks for San Diego hospitals during the pandemic, and he has said his aim is to make fashion reachable for people who aren't "the who's who."

A $25 seat at a 300-look couture show is that sentence with a number attached.

What You Need to Know

• Event: The Kenneth Barlis Fashion Show
• When: Saturday, October 24, 2026
• Doors: 6:30 p.m. · Showtime: 7:00 p.m.
• VVIP early access: 4:30 p.m.
• Where: Legacy Resort Hotel & Spa, 875 Hotel Circle South, San Diego, CA 92108 — in Mission Valley, off Hotel Circle
• Tickets: Online only, at kennethbarlisofficial.com
• Dress code: "Dress to impress" — stated on every ticket tier. Treat it as the floor, not the ceiling.
• Scale: 300 looks in one night, billed as the studio's biggest show to date

The Four Tickets, and What They Actually Get You

These aren't four prices for the same evening. They're closer to three different evenings.

• Student — $25. General seating, first come first served. A valid, active student ID is required at entry, and availability is limited. If you're enrolled anywhere, this is the single best-value ticket in San Diego this month.
• General Admission — $100. Admission with an assigned seat for the runway presentation. Doors 6:30, show 7:00.
• VIP — $150. Priority seating with a better view of the runway, plus hors d'oeuvres before the show.
• VVIP — $250. Premium seating — the best in the house — plus an exclusive dinner and early venue access at 4:30 p.m., two hours ahead of general doors.

The jump worth thinking about is $25 to $100. If you're a student, the decision is made. If you're not, the real question is whether you want a seat (GA), a better seat and food (VIP), or a whole evening with dinner (VVIP).

The Venue, and Why It Makes the Sell-Out Warning Credible

The show is at the Legacy Resort Hotel & Spa on Hotel Circle South in Mission Valley — and the room is smaller than "300 looks" might lead you to picture.

• The hotel's event space tops out at around 600 for a reception, with a 6,000-square-foot ballroom and a 500-seat theater.
• So this is a room, not an arena. However they configure it, a few hundred people are seeing this. That's what makes "before they sell out" a real warning rather than marketing language — and it's why the $25 student allocation being "limited" is worth taking seriously.
• There are also outdoor spaces on the property — the Plaza Fountain reception area and Legacy Gardens, about 7,000 square feet between them — which is the kind of thing a 4:30 VVIP dinner tends to use.
• One thing that trips people up: The Legacy International Center shares the same 875 Hotel Circle South address. If your map or a friend sends you to one and the invitation says the other, you're in the right place either way. Follow the signage once you're on the property.
• It's Mission Valley, so driving is the default. Hotel Circle South sits just off the 8, which also means a Saturday evening in Mission Valley — give yourself more time than the map says.

Who Kenneth Barlis Is

• He's a San Diego designer with a national profile, splitting time between San Diego and Los Angeles.
• Project Runway, season 19. Fox 5 San Diego has described him as the first Filipino-American on the show.
• Born and raised in Zamboanga, Philippines.
• His clients, per Bravo: Carrie Underwood, Kehlani and Offset.
• The work is described as clean, modern, bold and sophisticated — couture and eveningwear, with a separate bridal line.
• He teaches. The KB School of Fashion, launched in 2018, trains models for pageants and runway shows.
• He showed up during the pandemic, producing masks for San Diego hospitals and raising money for people affected.
• He has shown at New York and Los Angeles fashion weeks and served as a Miss USA judge.

Insider Tips

• Buy before you plan the rest of the night. The announcement leads with "before they sell out," and student tickets are explicitly limited. At eleven days out, the cheap tier is the one that goes first.
• Students: bring the ID, not a photo of it. The ticket page says a valid and active student ID must be presented at entry to get in on a student ticket. No ID, no entry at that price.
• Put 875 Hotel Circle South into your map, not the hotel name. Two venues share that address — the Legacy Resort Hotel & Spa and The Legacy International Center. The street number gets you there regardless.
• Doors at 6:30 for a 7:00 show is a tight thirty minutes. Get there at 6:30, not 6:55.
• VVIP is a 4:30 start. If you buy the top tier and turn up at 6:30, you've paid $100 over VIP for seating alone and skipped the dinner you bought.
• Dress to impress is on every tier. Students included — it's a fashion show, and the room is part of it.

For more of what's on around town, browse our full event calendar.