Wow, what a challenging ten weeks it's been. The only way I know how much time has passed is simply by counting how many "letters of the week" my daughter has completed in home-school. I’m so thankful we were able to experience our spring season before the pandemic reached Nebraska.

We are now 13 weeks out from our August season. At this point, we would typically have just announced our show lineup, completed our season ticket sale, and rolled out our early bird tickets to our long-time attendees and supporters. None of that has happened yet. What has happened, is we have collected designer applications. A LOT of them. Far more than we expected in the midst of a global pandemic. Clearly, designers see a need to continue our shows in some capacity, which is extremely touching and encouraging to us.

Given all this, Omaha Fashion Week plans to carry on with its August season…through a combination of in-person and digital runway shows! This means we are going to have to learn some new tricks over the summer. Instead of holding massive in-person model calls, staging an immense runway, creating interactive décor concepts, and being ever more innovative in how we cram hundreds of people backstage…we get to completely reinvent what it means to have a fashion show and take the stunning creativity of our designers to a global audience!

I’m gathering the smartest minds in my circle to make it happen. Discussions have just begun…and the ideas are already very inspiring! We hope to continue cultivating the vital partnerships that have always made OFW possible - with sponsors, salons, models, hair and makeup artists, and more - while providing new opportunities for brands, companies, creatives and audience members to participate in the excitement of our show. Here is what I can tell you so far:

  1. We will host a shorter season, August 27-29, at the Omaha Design Center.
    We expect significantly fewer tickets to be available this season due to gathering restrictions.

  2. We are planning an interactive live stream component to accommodate guests who aren’t able to join us in person.

  3. We will be following all of the latest guidelines on social gatherings to ensure the safety of our guests and participants for all events leading up to Omaha Fashion Week. More to come on this as the situation evolves.

  4. Tickets will go on sale July 1.


Between now and show time we have a lot of work to do! To make this season a success, we need your help. We‘ve put together a little survey below to gauge interest in the live/digital show format. Would love to get your input! Survey closes on Sunday, May 31 at midnight.


Last night we had designer orientation via Zoom and are set to announce our amazing roster of designers on Monday. Coming up on June 4 we have Mind Matters…a Conversation on Mental Health During Coronavirus…hosted on Instagram with our friend, Dr. Kristi Tackett Newburg. Plus, our re-invented digital model call will be June 13-14. And show tickets finally going on sale July 1. So much to look forward to!

As always, thank you so much for your support and faith in us. Looking forward to seeing you alongside our runway soon…whether in person or online!

Sincerely,

Brook Hudson
OFW Producer



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