OMAHA, Neb. (KMTV) — From Calvin Klein to Coco Chanel, famous designers light up the runway and our closets. But the next famous designer could be from right here in Nebraska.
If you're a kid and have any interest whatsoever in the fashion industry, Fashion Camp was designed just for you, whether you want to be a designer or a photographer.
"This is where the magic starts," said Brook Hudson, creator of Omaha Fashion Week. You could probably call her the fairy godmother of fashion, making the dreams of these kids come true.
Jessica Gebers says she knew very early on that fashion designing was her calling.
"I definitely want to be a fashion designer," said Gebers, a Omaha Fashion Camp attendee. "Fashion just wowed me at a young age. I just loved going to look at clothes. I didn't even have to buy them, just being in that atmosphere around clothes. I just knew this is what I wanted to do."
The kids get exposed to all aspects of the industry. Imagining that design in your head is one thing, but they have to sketch it out, create a mood board and actually sew it together, which for Gebers was a bit of a problem.
"I didn't know how to sew; I couldn't operate a sewing machine," Gebers said. "I learned all of that here."
But that's what this camp is all about.
"A lot of people on the main runway started at fashion camp," Hudson said. "We start as young as age six, and we go up to age 17. This is where kids get inspired, thinking, 'Maybe I can be a fashion designer, model or photographer.'"
They even get to practice how to strut their stuff on the runway. They go over photography, and of course someone has to model the clothes, so owning that outfit is crucial as well.
"I love to make women feel like they are princesses," Gebers said. "So mine have a lot of floral colors, more sophisticated looks."
At the end of the week they should have a wearable piece of fashion to model for their very own digital fashion show.
Also at the end of program, at least one kid's design will be selected to be a part of Omaha Fashion Week in August.
