Less than THREE WEEKS until Omaha Fashion Week kicks off another season of fashion and glamour August 18th-24th, and we’re thrilled to share more about our amazing lineup of headlining designers kicking off our shows each night!
Dan Richters is a true avant-garde designer. He has participated in Omaha Fashion Week since he began clothing design in 2009, and has also showcased at LA Fashion Week multiple times. With a background in fine arts, Dan has discovered a way to combine his foundation in painting, drawing, and sculpture with his curiosity and appreciation for clothing. Often inspired by fairytales and mythology, he creates otherworldly collections where art and fashion meet.
How did you get into fashion? Share a little about your background.
I've always made art of some sort...and been interested in fashion in some respect. I started to focus more on fashion as an amalgamation of all my art practices. I made my first collection in 2009. and have been making at least one collection each year since.
Describe your brand and the feeling you want it to convey. How was your brand concept born?
My brand is about fantasy, mystery, escapism, reality. My image emotes the slightly disconcerting nature of natural beauty - the danger of the ocean, the darkness of the deep forest, the fatal mystery of the polar caps, the treachery of mountains. Yet, at the same time, these things evoke beauty and charge our imagination. This is the feeling I want to convey - the concept of the authenticity of these experiences feeling supernatural.
What are your personal goals, or goals for your brand?
I hope to continue to develop my construction and conceptual techniques. Each collection pushing forward.
Describe your favorite project(s) that you have worked on.
I really enjoyed having the opportunity to create my collections’ presentation environments a couple times. It was great to be able to envelope the audience in the collections’ story experiences as much as possible.
Describe the collection you are creating.
This collection is dealing with that “brand” feeling I mentioned a couple of questions ago. This time though, I’ve been thinking about the reality of reality and what that means. How is this explained through my collection? it is something I’m thinking about while making it, and the impetus of my design choices. This is dealing with concepts present in my past couple collections. The idea of our present and its relation to the past/future, dimensions we barely understand. Perhaps you will not get this from just viewing the pieces, but this is what is going on inside my mind as I’m working.
Where did you find inspiration for your new collection?
I have been inspired by the beadwork of Manish Arora, McQueen, many Givenchy and Balmain collections. Beadwork is the main design inspiration for this collection.
Where did you find inspiration for your new collection?
I have been inspired by the beadwork of manish aurora, mcqueen, and in many givenchy and balmain collections. Beadwork is the main design inspiration for this collection.
Describe the specific customer you are designing for.
Anyone who connects with my ideas and finds interest and inspiration in the stories they create through the garments. Uses can range from red carpet looks, to events, to performances.
What sort of design elements can we expect from you this season? What materials, colors, shapes, or patterns will you be using?
I hope to have some interesting color treatment, in a more loose application, as if color is flowing over the sculptural elements of the beadwork. Colors I’m thinking of are rusty oranges, dull bronzes, patina greens, flowing over a milky white surface.
You can see Dan Richters on the runway during our AETHER Featured Designer Showcase on August 23rd! To learn more about Dan and his work, visit his website and follow along on Facebook and Instagram as he puts the finishing touches on his collection! Tickets are selling out fast, so snag yours today!