Makaylee Gayed joins Omaha Fashion Week for the first time with her very first collection.
The University of Nebraska-Lincoln senior says she wanted to create a collection that was inspired by how she first learned to sew from her grandmother when she was 8-years-old. “I wanted to incorporate her throughout [the collection] because she taught me be strong; and so I design for the stronger woman.”
The quilt blocking techniques that she learned early on from her grandmother became a foundation for Makaylee’s collection, making a textile from it and incorporating it into sleeves, tuxedo stripes and vests. It’s more high-end kind of business wear that could go to eveningwear, she says of her designs.
With her first collection, Makaylee says she wanted to push herself in her designs. “I rarely use prints, so I used solids in the quilt blocking to kind of get out of my comfort zone and make a print without it actually being a print.”
Makaylee hopes to continue designing after graduating from college and create a Lincoln-based label focusing on women’s wear and eventually expanding into children’s wear as well.
Follow Makaylee Gayed Designs here or see her looks on the runway during Omaha Fashion Week by getting tickets here!