Weinberg senior Zoe Damacela, a fashion entrepreneur, was named to the Crain’s Chicago Business “Twenty in Their 20s” list this spring, with the help of business and design savvy and ample Red Bull.

Damacela, 22, has made appearances on Oprah’s Angel Network, “The Tyra Banks Show” and the cover of Seventeen magazine’s October 2011 issue. She has also worked on President Barack Obama’s Startup America initiative, a program focused on encouraging entrepreneurship, for which she used her experience to improve legislation and services for entrepreneurs.

A double major in political science and history, Damacela studies at Northwestern while juggling her company Zoe Damacela Apparel.

“Not only did I start this company, but I did a lot of media exposure,” Damacela said. “I used my experience in fashion and business to help other people.”

Damacela said no one in her family was “remotely involved” in the fashion business — her mother was a nanny — but she got involved because she wanted to make extra money in high school while avoiding retail work.

At 14, Damacela began her “side job” that quickly expanded by word of mouth. Soon, mentors and customers were clamoring to know Damacela and her fashion designs, she said.

Damacela said she had an understanding of fashion’s design and business side of the job, having participated in business competitions in high school. She said she received “amazing” legal advice, especially upon coming to NU when her business had become more established and she had hired employees.

Before attending NU, Damacela said she had always planned to attend fashion school and knew she wanted to pursue designing. She toured several programs but said she felt they lacked the broad curriculum she desired, finding emphasis only on fashion technique such as garment construction, merchandising and marketing.

Damacela toured NU “randomly” and said she found having a liberal arts background — which would enable her to explore a variety of courses from costume design to linguistics — could be a career asset. Although her friends that attended fashion school had difficulty finding jobs, she said was able to be selective with several offers, taking jobs at both Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s in New York City.

“Showing you can understand things besides ‘this is how a garment is made’ is essential,” Damacela said.

Despite all her accomplishments, Damacela said she made the right choice to major in something outside the industry she planned to enter.

Brian Longwill, Damacela’s boyfriend, said he finds Damacela extremely inspiring.

“She’s able to provide a different viewpoint that might be less considered,” Longwill said. “She works diligently and is able to adapt and overcome any adversity in front of her.”

Farah Damacela, Zoe’s mother and vice president of Zoe Damacela Apparel, said the company’s focus will shift as Damacela pursues a career in New York and begins applying for graduate school.

“She’s going to be working nine-to-five and also going to school,” Farah Damacela said. “She’ll still do speaking engagements and remain behind the design’s vision but will hire people to sew — she won’t do it start to finish anymore.”

Zoe Damacela advises not to be afraid of a great idea — “don’t let fear stop you from getting started” — and to be realistic about what one can accomplish.

“The very first thing is accept that you can’t do everything,” she said. “You cannot be in a sorority, run a business, have a relationship and get a 4.0. You can’t be a champion at everything.”

Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @krichter_medill