In late 2013 Nick and I were invited by Ellie Archer to a dinner party at Metro Community College's [MCC] Culinary School. Knowing what an amazing program it was...and how awesome the food was sure to be...we didn't miss a beat in RSVPing yes! The brandied pears with vanilla bean marscacpone cheese we had for dessert still brings back fond memories.
At that time, we were like, "Wow. Imagine if Metro had a fashion program like their culinary program - wouldn't that be cool?" In late April, after many years of meetings with the team at MCC, that crazy idea became reality when an associate's degree in fashion design was approved by the state board of education. Check out the coverage from the Omaha World Herald.
We are really excited about this because of it's entrepreneurial focus. This is a quality program at a reasonable price that will help people in our fashion community develop new skills and perfect their craft. It includes an applied component in the form of an apprenticeship with Omaha Fashion Week. It is modeled after the apprenticeship program currently in operation at the Omaha Community Playhouse. See all the details here - classes start in early September!
This fashion program is a needed addition to the talent pipeline that is being developed in Omaha's fashion scene. We start at age 6 with Omaha Fashion Camp. Many of those campers take classes at Develop Model Management, participate in workshops put on by the Fashion Institute Midwest, take fashion classes at their high schools and participate in Omaha Fashion Week. All of these experiences help them build their resumes and portfolio for college.
The MCC fashion program also allows high school students a dual credit option - meaning they get both college and high school credit for these classes...and UNL is looking at offering credit for some of the fashion classes in this program so students can go on to earn their bachelor's degree. It all leads to more qualified people to start their own fashion businesses or land their dream job in this competitive industry.
We couldn't be more excited to see how this program will enrich the lives of the many talented people in Omaha's fashion scene!
xo,
Brook