GOCA Designs Showcases Collection To Help Raise Funds At The Arts of Life

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GOCA Designs is a women’s luxury clothing line that was established in Chicago in the Fall of 2010. President Gordana Rasic and Vice President Omar Villalobos, who are both pursuing college degrees; all the while bringing their fashion dreams to fruition, run the fashion line themselves. Through their combined efforts they aim to, “revamp the fashion industry as a vessel of art; bringing obscure truths into clarity.” Tackling college finals at the same time as showcasing in ‘Latino Fashion Week’ might be a daunting task for some but not for Omar & Gordana. Their passion is electric and their youthful energy is contagious.

I met Gordana & Omar in Billy Dec’s office. I heard about their story and was compelled to cover it on our blog so I invited them to the Rock Ranch Productions offices for an interview. Dressed to the nines (obviously)…they spoke about their fashion line with confidence and truly inspired me. Their story was so special and I couldn’t wait for the rest of the city to hear about these two cats.

Many designers dream to someday showcase in New York Fashion Week. But little come by this opportunity… fortunately this wasn’t the case for Gordana & Omar. They came across this amazing opportunity to showcase in New York Fashion Week by simply using the resources that social media has to offer. Through a string of Facebook messages they were given the opportunity of a lifetime and needed Chicago’s help to make it happen. With a goal of $5,300 they planned to represent young minority fashion designers and the Chicago fashion industry by presenting their line in New York!

And they did just that. They held a fundraiser, reached out to those who could help, and posted an online donation page. Chicago backed these young designers and they were able to bring their dreams to fruition!

GOCA’s Designs hit the runway on February 14^th and the theme was ‘Elegance of Maturity.’ By providing a cohesive collection that begins with cocktail dresses and ends in lavish gowns, they aimed to answer the question of whether maturity comes with age or with experience. Since then they’ve been featured in many articles and received nothing but positive feedback.

Now GOCA Designs is sharing their collection with Chicago! GOCA Designs will be showing their F/W 2012 Collection: The Elegance of Maturity, with an intimate audience of 250 people at The Arts of Life art studio.

GOCA has partnered up with The Arts of Life organization to put on this event so a percent of all ticket sales will help fund supplies for these artists. Don’t know what this organization is about? The Arts of Life is an arts studio for people with and without disabilities creating an artistic culture to realize their full potential visual art, performance, installation and music.

Watch this heartwarming video of what The Arts of Life really is. GOCA is excited to give back & help supply sewing machines for their Fashion Dept! 10 MORE DAYS TO HELP: http://bit.ly/HViHsR

Here’s the schedule:

6:00 p.m. -7:30 p.m. – VIP Cocktail Reception

7:30 p.m. – Student guests arrive

8:00 p.m. – ‘The Elegance of Maturity Fashion Show’ begins!

Tickets range from $25- $50 (Student & VIP Tickets available)

Purchase tickets here on Eventbrite.

Follow Gordana on Twitter: @GordanaRasic

Follow Omar on Twitter: @PapaGOCA

–Amanda Rivera