Gordana Radic

Gordana was one of the top international designers who presented their creations at the Vancouver Fashion Week 2005 recently. A collection of 50 different designs were on the runway at Suquet Interiors for the Oct 2nd show, the most striking of which was her gold embroidered black chiffon collection “Future of the Past” that paid tribute to Croatian ethnic costume in modern, even avant-garde stylistic cuts.

Speaking to the Asian Pacific Post recently, Gordana with her daughter Tena who translates for her, said, “I learnt to sew by myself since I was little and studied extra hours to earn my certification in Dressmaking in 1986 while post graduated in Science.“

Croatia‘s leading designer from the Dalmatian city of Slit, Gordana took her childhood passion for designing and transformed it into award-winning collections of haute-couture, high-end and pret clothing that have seen the catwalks of dozens of countries around the world.

Daughter Tena models her mother's creations. Tena is doing her masters in Business (Houston, USA), yet works as her mother's assistant and model. She has a couple of beauty crowns on her head too as a recent Miss Mediterranean and Miss Adriatic.

In the course of her career Gordana expanded her range to painted silk garments and launched out on a stint of writing fashion columns as well for several Croatian newspapers and magazines.

Among her many international achievements are presentations at the IGEDO — Dusseldorf in 1995 and the Prestige 2005 trade fair at the Dubai World Trade Centre recently.

Her pet project however was the revival of traditional embroidery in Croatia in a non profit organization “Golden Embroidery“ which she says was started to “preserve what was authentically Croatian.“

So where does fighting in the army fit in? “I believe it was my duty, as is of every citizen, to fight for one‘s country and so I did (in the war of Independence from Yugolavia). In fact every thing I do is not only for myself but to promote Croatia, including my work as a designer.“

But it is not all about Croatia. “I am willing to design specifically for the Canadian market too,” affirms Gordana who has already received business offers from Canadian companies during the VFW 2005.

Gordana‘s next stop will be the prestigious Haute Couture Fashion Week in Paris in Jan 2006 as a guest designer.

The world‘s her catwalk.

But Vancouver has definitely grabbed Gordana and the soldier dressed to kill will be back!