A woman in a pink beaded headdress peered out from behind a curtain in the front of a small, intimate room on the third floor of Omaha’s Blue Sushi Sake Grill. Dressed in a floor-length black dress and long pink gloves, the woman was one of her group of six who wore Le’Mario Somerville’s latest fashion collection that night. was a model of

Somerville is an 18 year old designer based in Omaha. He unveiled the designs at his Week of Omaha Fashion Fall show this year and last year. He unveiled the latest collection seen at this year’s Omaha Fashion Week his event at the Omaha Fashion Guild on September 15th. The event was sponsored by the Fashion Arts Collective to raise funds and awareness to support local fashion designers in Nebraska.

At the conference, Somerville explained his creative concept and explained that most of his design inspiration comes from nature.

“When I was growing up, one of my interests was watching episodes about Animal Planet, especially butterflies,” Somerville says. “Butterflies undergo a transformation, and I think that’s a really good metaphor for my collection. Through my designs, you can invent yourself and be who you want to be.”

Somerville’s passion for fashion began when she watched “Keeping Up with the Kardashians” with her sisters and saw all the celebrity outfits and interactions with famous designers.

“When we watched Keeping Up with the Kardashians together, there was a designer named Olivier Rousteing, the creative director of Balmain,” Somerville said. “I loved his designs and wanted to make something similar one day. Then I started sewing in my freshman year of high school and haven’t stopped since.”

Somerville especially remembers the first garment she designed for her niece’s first birthday.

“It might be my favorite piece of clothing I’ve ever made,” Somerville said. “But one thing I can say is that I will never make children’s clothes again. Every time I measured her, she would move around. But in the end, it was worth it.” She had so much fun wearing it, she looked like a princess.”

Somerville is better known for his designs, but he does all the marketing and photography for his collections and models his own clothes.

Tasloach Wol, also known as Taz, was a model at the recent Omaha Fashion Week and a guest at a Fashion Guild meeting. rice field.

“Le’Mario is only 18, but he’s already done a lot. “He doesn’t just design clothes, he models, and he’s a cool guy overall.”

Somerville is currently out of school, but her fashion career isn’t over yet. He wants to attend University of the Arts London – Central St. He Martins, or Polimoda, a fashion school in Florence, Italy.

“I really just want to get out of America and explore fashion in different countries. I would like to find it.”

According to Somerville, fashion is reaching new limits and they want to be part of a revolution for better fashion.

“I think we are in a fashion renaissance right now. It was unthinkable,” Somerville said. “Fashion is getting better and better. I want to be part of a better industry.”

culture@dailynebraskan.com