Turning the Town Red
The Color Red isn’t Going Anywhere & Yes, People in Nebraska Dress Well
Part I: Yes, People Dress Well All Over The Country
I moved to Nebraska last fall from Texas. I have always lived in the Midwest or the South - a mid-sized city, a small college town, a big city, or somewhere in between. Being raised in Missouri and starting off my career as a fashion blogger in the late 2000s/early to mid 2010s, that was what I knew and grew up in. Whenever I would attend bigger fashion shows in larger cities, and generally whenever I would travel, I would always be questioned “Wait, people in the Midwest can dress well?”. I would tell them where I lived and there would always be confusion. It’s a common misconception that there are not widely spread or active fashion scenes across the Midwest. It’s also a very common misconception that there are any big fashion shows in the US outside of New York City Fashion Week. And while yes, it is the most broadcasted, the most publicized, has the “biggest” names, and is large itself (crowd and shows), many cities produce and run their own fashion weeks throughout the country.
I am stating this here, although probably many of you reading know this to be true already. Although every time I would discuss about attending “not New York City fashion week, but a different city fashion week”, I would always be met with comments and questions about people never hearing of these events. More often than not, people would get excited. They would be like… wait, Austin has a fashion week? Wait, Atlanta has a fashion week? Wait, Minneapolis has a fashion week? Wait, Omaha has a fashion week?
The last question is probably asked far less. While I grew up in the Midwest, and started my past fashion blog there, I had never attended Omaha Fashion Week until this weekend. It is the fourth largest in the country and hosts designers from all over the world. I was definitely excited to attend this year and cover it. I was also excited to see how people in Nebraska dressed.
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As someone who has always been hyper-fixated on street style and personal style, viewing outfits during various fashion weeks is one of my favorite things to do (and probably most of us as well). I used to worship street style blogs in the late 2000s. One of my family’s favorite things to do was count how many times a street style photographer photographed me when we went to larger cities, when I was in high school. Then I would come home to Missouri, refresh the blog(s) until either my image would appear or I didn’t make the cut, then dream about moving to NYC where I could possibly be photographed everyday in my outfits - because those things did not exist around me. I was also in high school in a widely conservative Christian town that tried to outlaw every bar and tattoo shop. I was also in high school where our platforms of sharing outfits consisted of MySpace, Lookbook.nu, and a new trend emerging… personal style blogs. It was more limited.
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Even in the earlier days of the internet, where things were much slower to post and we felt a little less connected, there were still scenes of this everywhere. I remember being in Des Moines for a fashion week that they had, shortly after I was out of high school, and being photographed by a street style photographer there. I quickly started to realize during my years of early blogging, that we were quickly becoming very connected to others. It didn’t matter as much where you lived -it mattered what you wore, what you brought to the table, and your experience that you could share. And for the first time ever, you don’t have to live in a specific location to be part of a certain world, or conversation, or to be taken seriously. Take a look at my “Early Internet It Girls” series on Tiktok for a further look into this concept and discourse.
We have become able to share instantly online with almost everywhere in the world. There should be no question anymore of “does anyone know anything about fashion in the Midwest?” Or “does anyone have style in Nebraska?”. These statements and questions feel hyper-dated. They were not as highlighted before because the highlight was placed and planned. While that still is the case, viewers and creators exist outside the realm of traditional media norms and for the past fifteen years we have been able to see many spaces (with many well-dressed people) take more of a stage of creativity and expression. Anyone in Nebraska can go viral for what they wear, anyone in Missouri can be a freelance fashion writer, anyone in Iowa can start a successful street style blog that millions can view. While I won’t say it’s a level playing field now, it’s more accessible geographically.
Part II: The Color Red Is Not Leaving Us, Please Stop Saying The Trend Is Over :)
I know that everyone is currently complaining about the rapid pace that our fashion trends come and go - this is my chance to do so for a second. STOP SAYING THE COLOR RED IS OUT. Stop. It’s not. It just started to come back in late 2022/early 2023, it was full force this winter season and it will stay. I am putting that into the world because there is nothing more I have loved this past year besides wearing red tights and red sweaters. I love trends, I love red, let’s kept this a little longer internet fashion people.
From what I viewed at Omaha Fashion Week this Spring ‘24 season, these designers are also on my side. There was so much red. Everywhere. I loved it. Red is often associated with romance, but I have always associated it with attention and rebellion. For me, it symbolizes confidence, seductiveness, edginess, 90’s goth fashion, and yes- My Chemical Romance and vampires. As a former scene queen (or tried my hardest on MySpace to be one) who worshipped Emily the Strange and spent months obsessing over Courtney Love when I was younger, red is special. It’s edgy, it’s punk, it’s hot, and it’s elegant. It’s whatever you want it to be, but it’s a statement. Especially when it’s red and black together.
All Images Courtesy of Wyatt Fangman of Omaha, NE.
I guess I did get the memo for dressing on theme with the many of the designers. My Friday evening outfit (which I changed right before I left opting for a longer sheer dress than a shorter one) consisted of red/tights + lingerie + ribbon + nails/ and black/heels + sheer dress + bow/. Red was present everywhere this winter (2023) and it does not seem to be fading out of 2024 anytime soon from the looks from attendees to the collections showcased by designers.
And to wrap this up - red is staying, people dress well everywhere, and find your city’s local fashion week if you feel like you are missing something by being in the Midwest.