By Anna Lynch, Contributor
Named one of the 10 “coolest” Midwest cities by MSN.com earlier this year, Omaha absolutely deserves the title.
Coming far from being considered a “beef-infused” farm state, the Omaha metro has become a petri dish for culture and creativity, encouraging entrepreneurship and professional advancement.
Home to Berkshire Hathaway, the College World Series, Henry Doorly Zoo, the Historic Old Market and countless successful businesses, sports teams, eateries and museums, the top 10 Midwest city has done well for putting itself on the map.
Sure, every metropolis has a handful of things that set them apart, but Omaha has an armful.
With the help of Omaha Fashion Week, Nebraska’s largest city has acquired a respected and stylish reputation among the Midwest fashion world.
Surpassing other cities’ fashion productions, like Chicago, Minneapolis and Kansas City, Omaha Fashion Week has grown from an intimate show located in Nomad Lounge, to a 400-person-plus event.
“I feel like in the last years it has gotten huge. We are now known as the largest fashion show in the Midwest, which is really cool,” Assistant Producer of Omaha Fashion Week, Ali Babe said.
Young designers like 16-year-old Kate Walz and 1980s swimwear label Leggoons, have used Omaha Fashion Week as a platform to launch, or re-establish a once popular brand.
“It’s really cool to see Kate Waltz and what she’s done and accomplished. And that goes for a lot of the designers,” Babe said. “We’re trying to just help peoples’ dreams come true.”
Today marks the start of Omaha Fashion Weeks’ spring production for Fall/Winter 2013 collections.
The five-night event will include shows such as, the Cancer Survivor Show; the Hair, Makeup and Accessories show; and three nights of themed collections created by 16 different designers.
At 8 p.m. tonight, the Cancer Survivor Show will kick-off the production, which will showcase clothing from local boutiques, modeled by cancer survivors. According to omahafashionweek.com, a portion of the proceeds will benefit a specialty salon, Inner Beauty, at Methodist Estabrook Cancer Center.
The Hair, Makeup and Accessories show will be held Wednesday evening, marking a first for the OFW Team.
“The night of the Cancer Survivor Show we will draw a name and pair an accessory designer with a salon team,” Babe said. “They will have 24 hours to come up with some crazy idea to put together with the accessories and will showcase it at the Wednesday night (Hair, Makeup and Accessories) show.”
Thursday night will feature collections for Children’s Wear and Bridal, followed by Ready-to-Wear collections on Friday.
The last evening of the event will showcase collections in Avant Garde, Evening Wear, Menswear and Swimwear.
Each night, shows will start at 8 p.m., with the doors opening at 6 p.m. All shows will be held at Kaneko, located on 11th and Jones.
For more information on purchasing tickets, or event questions, visit omahafashionweek.com.
