Omaha Fashion Week is the nation’s 5th largest fashion week and the only fashion week with a dedicated facility that creates an opportunity for designers to show without fees. The vision for the Beauty Alliance was to incubate the newest talent in the beauty industry and showcase THE BEAUTY ARTS to the community as a viable career path. 

The Omaha Fashion Week Beauty Alliance allows Somer to bring 100+ students and 30+ professionals from across the midwest each season to create the runway looks for emerging, featured and famous national headlining fashion designers. Students and Alumni from SOHO Academy will have the premier opportunity each season to produce hair and makeup for the runway. 

Somer and her team are able to create a safe place that is well organized for models to have their hair and makeup done. Creating teams of students from all cosmetology schools in the midwest that are paired with a professional hair or makeup mentor.

Growing Beauty Professionals into Future Industry Leaders

Somer’s leadership and award winning salon teams from Trios and XOXO Salons bring the loving culture backstage. Serving others creates a peaceful experience and their professional mentoring shows everyone what’s possible. 

Through this amazing event they have been able to inspire many new students to attend cosmetology school, show parents the beauty of the fashion community and create an alliance with salon owners in the metro area. SOHO Hair Academy is working to grow beauty professionals into future industry leaders!

(Trios and XOXO Salons have used the opportunity of the Omaha Fashion Week Beauty Alliance as a first impression to work with students and have attracted 90%+ of their new hires through this program! They donate time and resources to this cause because it makes a difference for the industry, community and helps grow their business.)

Corporate hourly franchise salons are everywhere but struggle to provide a sustainable wage for their licensed employees, potentially forcing cosmetologists to default on student loans and find other employment to make ends meet. 

Antiquated salons with poor business practices and little to no financial stability are poaching stylists from other salons. Owners are hiding behind the chair without a leadership/legacy plan and are creating a generation of desperate stylists looking for a community they can trust.

The Beauty Industry is Being Led by Outsiders

Real estate developers are capitalizing on frustrated stylists and overdeveloping single use suite spaces that are under-used and overpriced. Stylists are struggling alone to learn all the rules and regulations of owning a business, understand taxes, laws, budgets, and inventory plus finding time to maintain enough hours behind the chair. Their guest communication, marketing and new business potential suffers while they struggle to maintain a work-life balance.  The suite model has elevated landlords’ empires and has driven the professionals further away from the community they crave. 

World-wide corporations have swallowed up hair product manufacturers and distribution. They have replaced local sales relationships with spreadsheets, live education with online videos and dehumanized small business. Prices continue to escalate rapidly and the financial impact has been devastating to local salons. 

It’s Time For A Change!