Interstellar Style
Dan Richters’ fantastic fashion designs take shape in 2011
By Augusta Olsen
Dan Richters is out of this world. He didn’t tell me what planet he is from, but I am sure it’s a terrain most women should visit, as his place of creative origin seems to continually amaze, redefining the exotic. Richters, one of Omaha’s most fantastical fashion designers, is preparing a new collection of his other-worldy creations to show in Omaha Fashion Week next month. As he was finishing his extraordinary fall pieces this summer, he took the time to tell me a little about his work. We are happy to highlight Richters’ work here, kicking off our celebration of local designers as the city prepares for the most fashionable week of the year.
“My new design concepts are stepping off of what a learned last year,” Richters recently wrote to me about his Omaha Fashion Week 2011 show. “The new concepts are a bit more refined from an engineering standpoint….the outfits are stronger yet lighter. They are easier to put on and wear,” he continued. Richters will be showing his fall collection in the main fashion show on Saturday, Aug. 27 at Nomad Lounge. This is his fourth collection to be featured at Omaha Fashion Week.
”They are still not based on reality. My designs for OFW2011 venture further out into imagination. Sometimes I briefly get hung up on being too ‘costumey’ or whatever. But then I just put all that aside and make something that I think is cool.”
Hotter than cool, his designs would be as at home on the big screen or stage as they are on the runway or in a dance club. The galactic nature of his clothing could expand anyone’s understanding of fashion freedom. Richters removes the limits of our world, breaks through a class atmosphere of style, and sets the imagination free. He does it with silicone and tape, among other things.
Richters’ use of unusual materials is one of the hallmarks of his unique style. Exaggerated shoulders and embedded lights often lend both a futuristic and fairylike appearance to many of his dresses. While his garments range from elegant to fun, they are always intriguing and worthy of attention, causing most women who don his frocks to become the veritable stars of the show.
“The first dress [pictured above left] is basically made of wire mesh and tape,” he said. “I used clear duct tape to get the diffused opacity, and covered that with heavy duty packing tape for the shine finish. It took a long time to make the pieces fit closely to the body as a whole, and then stitching the pieces together was tedious.”
Richters showed this dress in the “Fashion at the Max” show in April of this year. “I like how all the separate pieces move on their own to follow the model’s motion,” he said. “The lights are battery-powered LEDs. I think it took about 20 hours in all to make this dress. It’s the first piece I’ve made like this.”
Richters began designing in 2000, but increased his efforts in 2008, when he participated in the first Omaha Fashion Week. He is now a heavily sought-after artist whose worked has been featured in countless fashion events around the city. The other photo on this page features a dress Richters constructed for the “WALK” fashion benefit at the Waiting Room Lounge in March this year.
“As I make things, new ideas materialize and new materials develop,” he said. “Mostly through trial and error. I have a notion of what I want to happen, and then think about how to do that. I usually go with my first solution and then keep changing that until it works.”
Photo on left © 2011 Evan Baumhofer of Baume Foto. Lauren J., model; Photo on right David Miller photographer, Briana Robertson model, Didi Clark hmua