Omaha Fashion Week, the event’s owner Brook Hudson and producer Mary Reynolds-Secher and the fashion designer Kelli Molczyk have issued a joint statement regarding the controversy that upended last winter’s event.
During Molczyk’s show on Feb. 28, which was part of OFW, some attendees took offense for what has been described as an apparent swastika on the back of a jacket. Some attendees described the emblem as a hate symbol. After being banned from the event, the designer said it was a pinwheel pattern from a repurposed quilt.
In an Instagram post after the incident last winter, Reynolds-Secher had referred to being “appalled at the sight of a hate symbol walking on the runway. Those who know me know I staunchly stand against everything that symbol stands for. The anger that it evoked in me was palpable and I had to calm myself before talking with anyone. I have been involved in this community for 20 years and continue to work to build a safe welcoming space for everyone that I love.”
All parties seem to have resolved their discourse. Their statement read, “Regarding a concern raised with a design incorporated into an article of clothing by Ms. Molczyk, OFW has concluded that Ms. Molczyk followed OFW protocols for a headlining designer, and that she had no intent to display a hate symbol of the garment [during] Omaha Fashion Week. Ms. Molczyk acknowledges that she was so close to the design it never occurred to her that persons unfamiliar with the quilt pattern could see it as a symbol of hate.”
OFW has invited her to apply to participate in future OFW events. The next installment will be Aug. 20 to 23 in Omaha, but she said Thursday that she does not plan to participate during that show.
The designer is based in Kearney, Neb., where she runs and designs her sustainable-focused company Re-deFind. With more than 25 years of experience in the fashion industry, Molczyk specializes in outsourced freelance work in styling and apparel design. She uses thrifted and discarded pieces and material from people’s closets and homes to recreate fashion-forward items.
The designer uses discarded textiles for some creations.
Photo Courtesy
Her newest collection is called “The Vanilla Fields Collection” with items like a blazer, mother-of-the-bride top and dinner pants retailing for less than $100. The assortment has been made from such repurposed textiles as lace tablecloths, curtains, sheets, table runners and secondhand men’s clothing.
The designer declined an interview request Thursday, stating that she was unable to comment further on the matter.
