Buf Reynolds

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For Omaha designer Buf Reynolds, fashion isn’t just a job but a way of life. Between designing swimwear, dresses and wedding gowns, Reynolds runs a retro clothing store in the Old Market and donates her time and talent to area fashion events to help secure Omaha’s place in the fashion world.

Confronted with the possibility of a runway steaming with water would send most designers scrambling to their design boards in their Jimmy Choos, nervously tugging at their hair. Buf Reynolds took the information in stride. The 29-year-old designer, a “glass half full” kind of gal, saw a water-logged runway as the perfect opportunity to create swimwear and “gowns that would flow in the water.”
 

She knows runway shows are meant to be dramatic. Models sport outlandish hair and makeup. Clothing is couture. It is meant to set trends-combining masculine lines with very feminine fabrics, layering textures within a single outfit, creating curves by cinching one’s waist with a wide belt over a blazer or cardigan- that are not replicated head to toe on Main Street America. So why not water?
 

Reynolds’ swimwear was met with rave reviews at the Omaha Fashion Week preview held in March at The Nomad, and this wasn’t because guests attending the event were tired of wool and cold weather. “I like pushing the envelope with swimwear,” the designer admits. Those in attendance liked that she does. Reynolds’ metallic fabrics mixed with architectural cuts made a splash with the audience and achieved the designer’s goal of accentuating “the amazing features on a woman’s body.”
 

Her eveningwear featured fluid fabric and dramatic draping. Her dresses were elegant yet wearable, created with a rich color palette and eye-catching necklines. She gravitates toward pleating and draping with her designs because she feels it helps create a fit in a dress that will cover many sizes and look like it was intended specifically for whatever size it happens to be on. The effect isn’t flouncy though. “I tend towards sleeker, more elegant looks,” says Reynolds.