Two Milford High School girls have applied to enter their dress designs into Omaha Fashion Week.
OFW is the midwest’s largest fashion show where designers model their product lines. OFW is filled with buyers who then stock their stores with their designs. They have a student night where students get to model their designs. The night is also filled with industry professionals and scholarship opportunities for students.
Maizie Kolb and Addison Sample submitted their applications for the second time after both submitted one last year, but were canceled due to a spike in Covid-19.
Kolb, a sophomore at MHS, said she got her inspiration for her dress from Hades and Persephone, Greek mythology. She said this is her second time applying and did it because she wants to experience OFW. Kolb said this would be a good opportunity for her to improve her sewing skills.
Sample, also a sophomore, said she got her inspiration from Hades, the Greek god of the dead. She entered her design this year since she did it last year, and thought it would be fun to show off her work. She also thought it would be a good idea to show what she can do when it comes to design.
Mallory Gregory, Family and Consumer Science teacher at MHS, said both Kolb and Sample are signed up for Advanced Fashion Design this year and brought in amazing ideas in August to submit another application for this year’s OFW.
“Because their advanced fashion design class is not until second semester, they have come in every week during their study hall and have spent evenings in the FCS room sewing away to meet the November application deadline,” she said.
The application for OFW consists of them submitting front, side and back views of their project. Students also have to submit their hand sketches and answer three questions about the inspiration for their design, the construction process and the desire to be in OFW.
“From there, the application goes through the Nebraska FCCLA state advisor who works with the manager of Omaha Fashion Week,” Gregory said. “FCCLA and Omaha Fashion have been partners for quite some time now to connect students interested in this career field to the industry.”
Gregory said the OWF doesn’t have a certain number of students that will be accepted, but they only accept designs they feel would be a good fit for the student night. She said they will find out sometime in December if Kolb and Sample were accepted.
If the girls are accepted, Gregory said she would take them to the Design Center for OFW.
“They do a full-on hair and make-up event for the girls, a rehearsal and then they get to walk down the official runway at the special student night,” she said. “It is my favorite event to take students to because it is filled with industry and such a special night.”
Although it’s a fun experience, Gregory said it’s a good opportunity, too. It challenges the students to persevere through the technical skills of design and fashion construction.
“More importantly, it allows them to express themselves creatively and get connected to industry professionals to support their passion and skill sets,” she said. “For some, it leads to a career, and for others, it deepens their sense of purpose.”
Regardless of the outcome, Gregory said she is proud of the effort the girls put in.
“They are both very involved in many aspects of our school and have been dedicated to their interests and passions to open doors for themselves,” she said. “They are the perfect example of why I am so blessed to teach FCS in Milford.”
