Get to know our designers: Friday Edition

As we are only a few days from the beginning of Omaha Fashion Week we thought you should get to know a little bit about the Friday night Presenters!

Jessica Lynn Crystal Hobson Alejandra Buenrostro Elda Doamekpo  Katie Thompson

Jessica Lynn began sewing at the age of five from her grandmother. Jessica studied at the Art Institutes of Colorado. After she gained industry experience by working in a bridal boutique. Eventually Jessica went out on her own to design her how bridal gowns. Her lines are full of detailed, vintage inspired gowns and have been shown on the runway multiple times.

Crystal Hobson had always had the support of her parents when it came to doing what she loved. Going in to college she began with a Costume Design major. She then found the Textile Design program and fell in love. She graduated from University of Nebraska Lincoln and continues to do what she loves. Crystal showed in the August show and is excited to show here at the March show. Crystal designed pieces for this line that are simple but bring the WOW factor! Look for her designs on Friday night.

Alejandra Buenrostro studied design in Mexico and after college she received a job designing shoes. Alejandra applied to Omaha Fashion Week with the hopes of diversifying herself as well as stepping out of her comfort zone. Alejandra loved the experience and can't wait to expand her lines even more. She hopes to expand in to mens wear as well as continue with designing shoes in the future. This is Alejandra's first show and she can't wait to see what her future holds!

In August, Elda Doamekpo presented a collection that was inspired by her heritage and family. This season Elda will be presenting a line thats inspiration comes from over 100 years ago. She is very excited to present her collection based off the 1920's novel, The Great Gatsby. Elda brings the past and the present together to create beautiful designs. At the age of 17, Elda works to be an example for young designers as she presents her collection at Omaha Fashion Week.

Katie Thompson is anything but a new comer when it come to Omaha Fashion Week. The Iowa State student is constantly presenting fun, elegant, ready to wear collections. Katie works to create business causal clothes that are anything but stuffy. Pieces from Kaite's line are great first impressions and are full of creativity. See what she comes up with next when her models walk the runway.

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Click HERE to get your tickets for 3/13!

Omaha Fashion Week Evening Wear Recap

The evening was hosted by Pat & JT from our sponsor Q98.5 and had tons of colors, gorgeous gowns and a very happy fairy tale for one of our local designers. The night started off with a collection from Bridget Mahoney's line Bridget Julia from Kansas City. Mahoney, who is a FIM grant recipient, created a collection inspired by Marilyn Monroe called, "I want to be loved by you." The line was full of a sexy but sophisticated elegance that captured the superstar's essence. There were lots of colors, sparkles and fun elements like pieces of boa's and feathers.

The next collection was Spoiled Little Mamma by Berthier de La Cruz. His collection was inspired by Spanish bullfighting and featured lots of fabric and bright colors. Touches of satin on full skirts and lots of pleating. 

Model and designer Lauren Birkentall designs under the label Lauren Nicole. Her collection was inspired by the movie Coraline and Birkentall loved the magical yet sinister element of the movie. There were lots of triangles, patterns and a graphic element to her collection with bright pops of color.

Fella by Fella Vaughn was inspired by the late 1960s and early 1970s for his collection. It featured bright colors and bold patterns and was sophisticated and elegant. There was a disco aspect to some of the designs with tons of oranges and yellows.

Adrienne Anderson for Quite-A-Riot created a line out of mosaics. She hand stitched every piece of the fabric together to create the unique look. It was a very feminine line with elements of the late 1920s and early 1930s.

Elda Doamekpo designed her line Afielda after her native West African routes. She used traditional African fabrics with bright pops of purple and pink and paired them with ornate headdresses to get a really unique line of evening wear.

FIM grant recipient Kate Walz dedicated her line to her idol Jessica Lathem, a local boutique owner who helped Kate get her start in design. Lathem always said, "Practicality is overrated," and Kate used that quote to help inspire her collection. The line was very reminiscent of Old Hollywood with tons of ruffles and satins with a very feminine element and bright pops of color.

At the late show "Phaesporia: Light Bringer" presented by Buf Reynolds, was an inspiring collection of beautiful gowns that showed the metamorphosis from dark to light. The long draped gowns were made with silk and had elements of tapestry and gold leaf. To top off the night, Buf got engaged!

Fella, Bridget Julia and Kate Walz will all compete tonight for the Fashion Cup.