The latest blog posts on the Midwest's Premier Fashion Event.
Omaha Fashion Week’s third designer showcase took place last night. The night’s theme was “Fluidity.” A wide range of fabrications explored the fluidity of textures and gender. On the runway, we saw vegan leather, neoprene, and soft beachy fabrics. Looks were inspired by biker culture, women’s empowerment, and androgyny.
Another fabulous night of fashion commenced last night at the Omaha Design Center. Six more talented designers sent beautiful collections down the runway for the second Omaha Fashion Week showcase! The theme for the night was “Global Influence.” Designers took inspiration from global locales in Africa, the Philippines, Portugal, and historic France, to destinations closer to home including our beloved Midwest prairies.
Omaha Fashion Week kicked off this season last night with the first designer showcase. Guests arrived for the Pretty in Patina Pre-Party prior to show time to shop retailers, enjoy the complimentary champagne fountain, strut the Borsheims Red Carpet, and indulge in drinks and hors d’oeuvres. In addition, the house photographers, Heather and Jameson Hooton, presented a special photo gallery. Editorial photos from the latest edition of Omaha FASHION Magazine were brought to life throughout the Omaha Design Center.
Next Saturday, August 27th, we will be preparing for the final showcase of Omaha Fashion Week August 2016. This showcase will feature the best of fashion week. Top designers were selected at Rack Check on August 6th. At Rack Check, designers presented their completed collections to the OFW Panel for scoring. Top scores will be representing the finale line up.
We are coming up quickly on another season of Omaha Fashion Week. In just a few more days, we will be kicking off the first night on August 22nd! What’s a fashion week without a little shopping? We have another amazing set of retailers available to shop at the Pretty in Patina Pre-Party. Join us each night of fashion week from 6 – 8 pm for a little retail therapy!
Every year over a thousand people go in to making Omaha Fashion Week a success. Designers, models, our team, and other creatives work hard every season to put on the Midwest’s premiere fashion event. We are also very lucky to have a phenomenal group of sponsors that support us each season.
With only a couple short weeks left until show time, designers are getting down to business finishing up their collections. Omaha Fashion Week will be held August 22-27 this year. For the past few months, designers have been creating some exciting work for us all to view on the runway. We got to take a little sneak peek at some of the talented creative’s latest work:
We are ready to reveal the 12 phenomenal designers who made it into the line-up for the VIP Runway Finale on August 27! “We have an outstanding group of Finale designers,” said OFW Producer, Brook Hudson. “Only two-tenths of a point separated the designers in the finale from those did not make it – competition was tough!” Read on...
Mitchell Henderson, 17 year-old high school student, will be debuting another collection on the Omaha Fashion Week runway this season.
Orchid Richards, a native New Yorker and recent graduate from the University of Nebraska Lincoln, will be debuting her latest collection at OFW this season. She holds a degree in Textile and Fashion Design and has gained valuable experience with multiple internships in the industry. Orchid interned with a patternmaker in New York City and at a local baby clothes company in Lincoln.
Every night of fashion week, August 22-27, we will be featuring some amazing talent at the Pretty in Patina Pre-Party! Below is a brief description of what each night will hold from 6 - 8 pm.
Miranda Hanson, 16 year-old designer, will be joining us for the first time this season. The young designer got her start from watching videos online, “I started getting into fashion at a very young age when I would watch hours and hours of videos on YouTube from beauty and fashion gurus. Soon I was spending those hours watching DIY tutorials,” she says. She then got her first sewing machine at the age of eight, “After I got the machine, it took off from there. I am almost completely self taught with the help of YouTube,” she explains.
It’s always exciting to add new members to the OFW family. This month, we are welcoming our new Marketing Director, Natalie Wallace. She’s adding some fun and flare to the posse, and we are so happy to have her!
Red Carpet Ready was held this past Thursday at Borsheims. We had such a great turnout for the fabulous event! Guests got the chance to sip on delicious cocktails provided by Peroni, indulge in tasty hors devours from Paradise Bakery, pamper themselves with our friends from Garbos Salon, strut the red carpet (of course), and get a look at some of the finest jewelry!
Leah Kettelson, a graduate from Georgia Southern University, will be returning to the runway this season. Leah completed a degree in Apparel Design and Fashion Merchandising. After graduation, Leah moved to New York City and worked with designers Elise Overland and Michael Kors. She now lives in McCook, Nebraska and designs custom gowns and accessories for her own company, Leah Kareen Studios.
If you’ve been to Omaha Fashion Week before, you’ve experienced the Pre-Party excitement. Before, guests shopped trendy retailers, sipped sparkling cocktails, and enjoyed the Borsheims Red Carpet Experience. Now, we will be including some amazing pre-show entertainment in addition to all of that. Omaha Girls Rock and Ballet Nebraska will be joining us this season to get the party started on Monday and Thursday night! Throughout the week, there will be other guest performances that will be announced soon.
Newcomer, Monnie Winslow, will be showing a collection on Thursday, August 25th. Monnie has been sewing since she was 15 years old. “I am mostly self taught, along with a few sewing classes in high school and mentoring from friends, family, and coworkers,” she explains.
Chessna Fernald is showcasing her latest collection on Friday, August 26th at Omaha Fashion Week! Chessna is a self-taught designer and has been designing and sewing clothes since she was a teenager. Her first collection was debuted at OFW in 2010.
OFW and Borsheim’s Fine Jewelry and Gifts will be hosting Red Carpet Ready in just a couple short weeks! That means some tough decisions coming up to pick out that perfect outfit. We’ve scoped out the latest red carpet events for some inspiration.
In late 2013 Nick and I were invited by Ellie Archer to a dinner party at Metro Community College's [MCC] Culinary School. 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.
