Join the Omaha Fashion Week team for Beyond the Runway, a virtual conversation series. We will kick of the week with our yearly Student Night Discussion Panel featuring some of Omaha’s industry experts. We will hear from local fashion and arts specialists on tapping into creativity and inspiration during a time of isolation. We will discuss navigating this hallmark year and the transformations that will come with it.
Join us in the discussion with experts in the arts. The conversation if FREE and will be held on Zoom from 7-8 PM on March 23rd, 2021. Read more about the panelists below!
Brett Foster | Omaha Fashion Week Visual Artist
Brett Foster returned to Omaha after 15 years to start his own design business, WOWFACTORE. His came back from a fashion merchandising career with Marshall Fields in Minneapolis, and most recently from Vice President of Visual Merchandising and Marketing for Macy's in NYC. His love of fashion started when he learned to sew and created personal pieces to compliment the lackluster items available in small town Iowa. His retail career has involved everything from product development, trend forecasting, branding and presentation.
Brett Foster has been Omaha Fashion Week’s Visual Artist for over eight years, a member of the Omaha Fashion Week Selection Panel since 2018, and has been featured in Omaha FASHION Magazine.
Alyssa Dilts | Omaha Fashion Week Casting Director
Alyssa started in the modeling industry locally with Nancy Bounds Studios. She then moved to Chicago where she was the Director of the Runway Division, New Faces & Development for Elite Model Management (now Select Model Management). Alyssa relocated back to Omaha in 2011 to open Develop Model Management, offering the models and talent that she represents a launch pad to further their careers in other markets by connecting them with the countless fashion relationships she has throughout the world. Since 2012, Develop has been a proud sponsor of OFW and in 2013 Alyssa became the Casting Director, responsible for managing scouting, booking and training the OFW models. In 2014, Alyssa created the programming for Omaha Fashion Camp presented in the summers by OFW and Develop Model Management.
Keith Rodger | Omaha Fashion Week Music Director
Keith Rodger is a Audio Engineer, DJ, and Producer under the alias Kethro. In 2011, he became known for his highly energetic and sonically diverse DJ sets during his 5-year residency at House of Loom. In 2014, he started touring as an engineer and musician with The Faint, Tuxedo, Icky Blossoms, and Conny Franko. In 2016, he honed his career when he joined Make Believe Studios working on critically acclaimed albums with Jidenna, Jay Prince, We The People, Logan Richardson, and Joe Hertler & The Rainbow Seekers. In 2021, he is pursing software engineering with the aim to create virtual tools to better musicians and audio engineer's lives.
Keith Rodger has been on the Student Night Panel since 2018, worked as the Omaha Fashion Week Music Director for nine seasons, and has a passion for inspiring musical talent in young minds.
Paty Figtree | Omaha Fashion Week Beauty Alliance Professional
Paty Figtree, also known as PurplePaty the Unicorn Queen, has been doing hair behind the chair for 12 years and makeup since the age of 16. She has always had a passion for fashion and the arts. Currently residing in Kansas City, MO as a stylist at With Love Salon, Paty makes the trip to participate in fashion week all over America, from Nebraska to New York. Paty Figtree has worked as an integral part of the Omaha Fashion Week Beauty Alliance and has been behind the chair for Omaha Fashion Week since 2013.
“Every year I look forward to these shows, getting to be creative behind the scenes, network with designers and artists, plus walking the red carpet in the craziest outfits I could come up with. It feeds my soul getting to be creative and share my ideas and styles with like minded humans at these events!” - Paty Figtree
Heather Hooton | Omaha Fashion Week Runway Photographer
Heather Hooton is a fashion photographer and current president of the Fashion Guild. She and her husband have been the official photographers and videographers of Omaha Fashion Week since 2015 and an active part of the Omaha fashion community since 2012. She has been published both nationally and internationally and her client list includes Select Models, Billboard Magazine, Harper Collins, Develop Model Management, Inspired Living Magazine, and more.
Tamara Kurtenbach | Former Omaha Fashion Week Designer
Tamara Kurtenbach is a mother of five, an Omaha-based fashion designer, and owner of the womenswear label, Passionate Lion. Tamara has also created Passionate Lion GREEN Label, an Earth friendly diffusion line for women, men, and kids that promotes the conservation of Mother Earth through up-cycling. Tamara has previously shown in the Omaha Fashion Week Fall 2017 Showcase.
Spots are limited for this event. To hear from our group of local experts at Omaha Fashion Week’s Virtual Student Night Discussion Panel, reserve your tickets now.
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