March 6, 2024
Inas Hskan—a junior textiles and apparel design major from Lincoln—is pursuing a lifelong passion for fashion using sustainable materials and practices. This year, Inas had the opportunity to return to Omaha Fashion Week and showcase nine of her academic and personal projects. Learn more about Inas, the Textiles, Merchandising and Fashion Design program and what it’s like to showcase at Omaha Fashion Week.
Talk about why you decided to apply to Nebraska, and specifically pursue Textiles, Merchandising and Fashion Design. What drew you to this program?
I’ve always liked painting and sewing ever since I was a child. I decided to apply to Nebraska because it was local, and they had both programs I was interested in. I was originally a fine arts major, but I changed it to fashion right before classes started because it offered all the skills I needed to pursue a career in fashion design as well as the creative side which ties into my interest in painting and drawing.
You have your own fashion business called Inas Hskan. How did you start this entrepreneurship venture and where do you hope to take this business?
I started my small business during my sophomore year here at UNL when I started getting commissions from my friends and their families. This inspired me to post more about it on social media and platforms like Depop to reach a wider audience. Right now, I’m selling my clothing and accessories on Depop as well as selling at local markets in Lincoln where I have made some of my closest friends who are also local artists. After I graduate, I hope to expand my business and have my own clothing brand with a creative team so it’s not me doing everything — from designing a garment to selling it to customers.
Where do you find fashion inspiration?
I find inspiration in architecture and nature that I see in my daily life as well as rococo paintings and interior design and the silhouettes from the 60’s and 70’s fashion era.
This will be your second appearance at the Omaha Fashion Show. What did you take from previous years’ experience as you prepare to show your collection again?
This year was my second time showing at Omaha Fashion Week Student Night. The last time I showed at Omaha Fashion Week I had three looks, one that I made in class and the other two were my personal projects that I did for fun. This year I showed nine looks on the runway which were more cohesive as a collection, and it showed my design aesthetic more accurately.
Take us through the process of showcasing a collection at Omaha Fashion Week. What does it mean to show at Omaha Fashion Week?
This collection was mostly products that I have been selling since last summer, but I wanted to style them together and show people how they can mix and match some of these items to get more outfits out of the items. The process of showcasing at Omaha Fashion Week as a student can be exhausting as you finish the last details and change things after you do fittings with your models but it’s also exciting to see your models walk on the runway and see the audience’s reaction to the outfits.
Omaha Fashion Week is one of the largest shows in the region. Getting accepted to show alongside other amazing and talented fashion students and local designers is always fun.
You are showcasing upcycled and recycled materials in your designs at the Omaha Fashion Show. Can you speak to the importance of sustainable fashion?
The fashion industry is the second most polluting of all industries because most clothes are likely to be made of synthetic materials like polyester, which is a fiber derived from petroleum, a nonrenewable fossil fuel. With the rise of the fast fashion industry, about 92 million tons of clothing end up in landfills every year. The toxins and microplastics released from these textiles can be extremely harmful to humans and ecosystems’ health. As someone who wants to work in the fashion industry, I hope to minimize this by using natural and sustainable materials and inspiring people to shop more sustainably.
In line with your focus on sustainability, you are assisting in researching the creation of yarn from chicken feathers and making the fabrics. How did this project get started and how is it going?
This project was started by Dr. Yiqi Yang who has done other projects like this that focus on sustainability. I’m helping with the design and fabrication part of this research which included making crochet samples so we can see the properties of the yarns and then I crochet a garment of the yarn to show how those properties of the yarns would look as garments. So far, we have made a sweater made of 50% rayon and 50% keratin from the chicken feathers and we dyed it red for the UNL color. We also have finished a dress made of 50% silk and 50% keratin — which was shown at Omaha Fashion Week — and we are currently making a vest and skirt made of pure keratin fibers.
Is there anyone (faculty or staff) that has made a positive impact on you?
I have learned more about sustainability in the fashion industry from Dr. Sandra Starkey from conversations, class discussions, and assignments than I could ever learn from reading about it.
What is something you have learned during your time at Nebraska that you will take with you?
I have learned from a lot from the friends I have made here, and I hope to keep those friendships in my life after graduation.
What do you hope to do after graduation?
I hope to work on my own brand and grow as much as I can, but I would also love to work for some of my favorite brands that have inspired me.