Omaha Fashion Week Recap — February 21st-24th

We were excited to get some coverage of Omaha Fashion Week this season, since one of our crew was showing a collection. Omaha Fashion Week began with Buf Reynolds having fashion shows in the streets in the Old Market back in early 2000’s and the event grew to take place in tents under the 10th Street bridge. Today, shows are held at the Omaha Design Center. Since 2008 OFW has grown to become the 4th largest fashion event in the US, and gives local designers a place to show their collections, and a chance to network and sell their clothes at Shop the Runway Sunday.

All levels of experience are welcome, from 4H to high school and college, to designers who are more established. It’s a great place for the community to come together and make connections in the fashion community.

It was a change of pace from the quilt shows that we’re used to, and a great way to get out and support local creatives who have put an incredible amount of time and effort into their collections. We were there Thursday night for the Bold designer showcase. During the first half of the show, six emerging designers showed their collections:

Yet Luxxe showed a collection of resort wear in neutral tones with pops of gold and blue.

I’m Hooked on Stuffies was an all crochet collection featuring a crochet jellyfish and some fun fringe.

From ARNAtheCRAZE, we saw elegant evening fabrics sequins.

Girl on Mars showed looks reminiscent of a garden fairytale.

House of Chelette brought a modern take on the Crinoline Period, with feathered parasols and cage skirts.

Gretter RM wrapped up the first half with a lovely daywear collection in pastel pinks and greens with bold pops of purple and orange.

During the second half of the night, we saw a variety of styles from the Featured Designers:

Studio Rae showed a collection of fiery crochet looks were brought to life as the models moved in the clothing.

Designer Casarez brought her take on activewear/loungewear in what was one of the most comfortable looking collections of the night.

The show we were waiting for (We’re biased as she’s one of us!) was Lucid Luxe. Kristen showed a collection of vibrant ice dyed fabrics using Jacquard Procion dyes, and upcycled denim pieces that she created using the Janome Long Arm in our classroom with the Quilt EZ Ruby Butler, and her army of Elna machines, including the eXpressive 830L embroidery machine, Covermax coverstitch, eXtend 864 Air, and eXcellence 720 Pro. Appliques and embroidery were digitized using the Janome Artistic Digitizer software.