At age 16, Claire Landolt was the youngest designer in Omaha Fashion Week. She spoke with the Creightonian the day after the runway finale. Her line, Itchy, was featured. She constructed her runway collection from Omaha World-Herald newspapers and duct tape.

The master of ceremonies said you started designing at age eight. What made you start designing?

I don’t know. I just kind of started. It was something new and I wanted to try it.

You’re a junior at Roncalli High Catholic School. What are your plans after graduation?

I am looking at different schools for fashion and design. The schools I am looking at are the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York, The Art Institute of Seattle and The Art Institute of Vancouver. I don’t really know yet. I have to visit places before I really decide.

What exactly are your dresses made out of, the ones we saw last night on the runway?

Everything except the metal eyelets and ribbon used to tie the models in is newspaper and duct tape.

How long does it take to make one of the dresses?

For the smaller ones, I can usually get them out in a day. A full day’s work, though, all 12 hours. Some of the larger ones take longer, maybe a couple days.

Was designing for Omaha Fashion Week a good experience for you?

Yeah, it was. There were some great people to work with and, as always, some you don’t enjoy working with. But overall, it was a great experience. Icon Hair was really good; they were great people to work with. The overall ending was great.

Were you expecting 3,000 people would be there to see your line?

Well, I was hoping there would be. I watched it last year and it was a little different, but this year was great. I was just amazed at all the people out there clapping and cheeringfor me!

You can see Claire’s clothing at Bellwether Boutique at 1028 Howard St. in the Passageway. Bellwether specializes in vintage clothing and clothing from local designers. Check out Claire online at myspace.com/itchy_xox