Role Model Saige Thomas

Unstoppable: Military Medic to Fashion Week Visionary

By Michelle Vasquez  |  Photography by Jennifer Denton

When Saige Thomas left the military after 11 years, she had mapped out her next move in marketing. In addition, “I got a $15,000 bonus and did what anybody would do,” she laughs. “I bought a camera and asked the internet if anyone wanted to shoot.” One can’t help but notice Thomas’s confidence in thinking everyone has the same bravado, persistence, and sense of possibility. That’s what makes her a role model.

That simple Facebook post led to her first shoot with a local influencer, and two months later, she was on staff with the Texas Fashion Industry Initiative, shooting fashion shows. “The fashion bug bit me all over again,” Thomas recalls.

Her path from military surgical technician to creative entrepreneur was intentional. “If I can coordinate surgical teams, why can’t I coordinate a fashion show?” she reasoned. Her background in trauma and surgery, coupled with a Lean Six Sigma certification, became unlikely but powerful tools in producing large-scale creative events. “I infused process improvement into everything. Even our designer applications double as contracts.”

Thomas co-founded Texas Fashion Week during the pandemic with partners Burgundy Woods, Jeanelly Concepcion, and Kaia Dublin. Four years later, the event is a growing platform for designers and models across the state. In spring 2025, she secured funding from the county to launch the first-ever spring edition and finally landed her dream venue at Frost Tower. “That was a big moment. I’d been chasing them for three years.”

Yet, production isn’t her only passion. Storytelling runs through everything Thomas does. In 2023, she received a city grant to create Who We Are: San Antonio, a documentary featuring community leaders from each side of town. “I wanted people to understand the cultural significance of these neighborhoods—why they matter, and who they matter to.”

For Thomas, storytelling is about empathy. “My goal is to make the audience feel. To put them in someone else’s shoes,” she explains. One story she captured was of a woman who holds burial ceremonies for babies who pass away without families. “That moved me deeply. I didn’t know stories like that existed in our city.”

Thomas’s leadership extends to the runway. As a mentor to many of the young models who participate in Texas Fashion Week, she takes her role seriously. “Some of them are just 17 or 18. I feel responsible for making sure they’re safe, paid fairly, and treated with respect. This industry can be harsh, and someone has to advocate for them.”

That instinct to protect comes from being the eldest of several siblings and serving as a supervisor in the military. “It’s in me to lead and care for people. The military shaped that, but I’ve made it my own,” she says. She often reminds her team that leadership isn’t about having it all figured out. “We’re all works in progress. It’s about the pursuit of grace, kindness, and the willingness to grow.”

Thomas sees her career in chapters: military, photography, production, and film is on the horizon. “It’s all by design,” she says. “We don’t have to stay in one box. If you have the means and the passion, explore it. We’re only here for a short time.”

When asked how she defines her life’s work, Thomas doesn’t hesitate: “Exploring the stories and beauty of others.”

And her advice to women navigating their own path? “Try everything and fail forward. If something calls to you, try it. If you fail, that’s okay. You get to decide whether to keep going or move on. But at least you tried.”

Thomas isn’t just building a career. She’s building space for creativity and for other women to shine. She calls herself a “creative explorer,” trying new things, mastering them, and moving forward. Always setting the example through word and action, we call her a role model.