Monday through Friday events will be at Nomad Lounge, 1013 Jones St. Tickets: $15 general admission (standing room only); $25 reserved seating; $50 VIP seating (includes runway-side seating in the first two rows and a 6 p.m. pre-show cocktail party).
The main attraction is the Saturday Finale catwalk outside along Jones St. Tickets: $25 (standing room only); $30 to $60 reserved seating (price depends on the row); $120 VIP seating (includes a seat in the VIP section and access to a 6 p.m. pre-show party inside Nomad Lounge). For those interested in VIP tables, the cost is $1,000 and includes six seats at a private table in the VIP section, valet parking, complimentary bottle service and access to the pre-show party.
Information: omahafashionweek.com
The Birth Of The Bikini
On Tuesday, the bikini turned 65. In fashion history, it's noted that on July 5, 1946, a nude dancer in France made her mark on beachwear, baring her midriff and pelvic area for all to see.
By Josefina Loza
WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER
On Tuesday, the bikini celebrated its 65th birthday. Imagine that — 65.
The birth of the two-piece was quite the triumph for fashion designers. It was bold, sexy and a bit revealing, but not crass.
If anyone knows the challenge of making an exceptionally beautiful bikini, it's Michaela Cawley. She's a 2002 graduate of Omaha Westside and fledging a fashion designer.
Cawley's had a line of luxury bikinis — KKINI — for a while, and she's now expanding it to include one-piece suits. She recently relocated from New York to Los Angeles.
She's busy manufacturing her 2012 line, but she took a break and came to Omaha for the Fourth of July. She talked with us here about her new line and the beauty in swimwear design.
Cawley will showcase her KKINI collection during Omaha Fashion Week, a downtown celebration of local designers Aug. 22 through 27.
Reared in Omaha, Cawley moved to California to attend Santa Clara University. While studying broadcast journalism, she convinced her parents — Cindy and Dr. Kevin Cawley, a radiologist at Methodist Hospital — that she'd benefit from a study-abroad program in Cape Town, South Africa.
Cawley fell in love with the laissez-faire beach culture, collecting somewhere around 200 bikinis. She tapped into vintage swimsuits and traveled throughout Europe adding to the collection. After she purchased her 300th bikini, she started making her own.
Cawley returned to Santa Clara to finish her bachelor's degree. Shortly after her 2006 graduation, she hustled back to Cape Town to study beachwear for six months. Then she went to the south of France to study bikinis some more. She created metallic, sequined, beaded and bejeweled bikinis.
Her older sister, Shannon, who worked as executive assistant for footwear designer Jimmy Choo, urged Cawley to start a label. Also a designer, Shannon soon will launch Aspen Thrift, a line of jean shorts.
“If you get excited about walking into a fabric store,” Cawley said, “You know designing is right for you.”
Cawley met Daphne Guinness, a fashion icon, film producer and member of the Guinness brewing family, and became her personal assistant. Guinness' penchant for couture clothing inspired Cawley to create KKINI, a swimwear collection soldonline and in New York and Cape Town boutiques. She'll also design one-of-a-kind pieces upon request.
During her Omaha visit this week, Cawley landed a spot at former InStyle Editor Alice Kim's Trocadero in the Old Market. The chic accessories boutique near 12th and Howard Streets is crammed with designer handbags, shoes, lotions and jewelry. It now carries KKINI.
Cawley's most expensive suit currently is a metallic 1930s-esque halter with ruching that sells online for $250.
But she's found a major manufacturer to reproduce her swimwear at a low cost to make many of her suits more affordable, in the $110 to $180 range. Sixty KKINI bikini styles — from sultry black lingerie to poppy pink-and-white Candy Land-striped to a synthetic snakeskin suit — are currently being made in Los Angeles. Cawley maintains table space at the factory to work directly with the seamstress in re-creating her visions.
“It's sometimes an agonizing process,” she said. “But you learn so much from being there.”
For instance, Cawley improved the labels stitched inside her suits. They now hang from tiny pieces of thread and tear out more easily. She's also added cover-ups — some poncho and maxi-dress styles — to her line. She created a tribute swimsuit for a friend and fellow swimsuit designer who recently died. Cawley said all of the proceeds from the tribute suit will benefit the Sylvie Cachay Memorial Project (www.sylviecachay.org).
Next week, Cawley will participate in the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Swim Show in Miami.
“It's the next step for swimsuit designers,” she said. “It's the biggest thing in swimwear.”
Contact the writer:
402-444-1075, j.loza@owh.com
twitter.com/LozaFina
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