A Story of Love & Madness
From successful corporate careers, they both took the leap to put full-time focus on family and a business they fondly refer to as ‘mom-and-pop’, yet has already garnered a global customer and fan base. AJ & Audrey Dimarucot are the superduo behind googoo&gaga, which in their words, is a brand they’re ‘absolutely connected with’, because it is and they are, Love (googoo) & Madness (gaga) personified.
Why googoo&gaga?
“Googoo means love. People usually think gaga is me but he’s the crazy one. I’m the love. I’m googoo.” -Audrey
“She’s love personified – what she does is for everybody except herself. For the madness part… I’m not crazy, but just in a sense that I’m not afraid — the ability to say let’s do it, whether it’s a career or a personal choice. The madness balances the love and love balances the madness. Love and madness personified – we really are googoo&gaga.” -AJ
On the googoo&gaga x Thread 365 Collaboration
“You’re known for the solids, we’re known for the prints. As a kids’ brand, it’s good for googoo&gaga to mature a bit with our first real adult line and then for Thread 365 to have [a dose of our] fun… the timing was perfect.” -AJ
“We’ve been doing collabs with designers and photographers; but since this is with another brand, it’s a different kind of collaboration – it’s bigger. We’re super excited. Our involvement [in this project] is huge. I can’t wait for the launch. Where can I get my stash?!” -Audrey
Design Inspiration
“When I design, there’s no real place where it comes from. Like it’s on a whim. Every time, there’s no real story behind it. It’s me as a designer or an artist – a lot of it is unplanned.” -AJ
Style Application
“The colors are very summer, and the shorts are perfect for a trip to the beach. The shirts I’d wear with white pants.” -Audrey
On Taking the Big Leap
“For parents and kids alike: you can be different. I’d like to see more people go the entrepreneurial route. [For me, AJ] was the original risk-taker; he encouraged me to take that leap. [Now we can] be there for the kids and witness all these small moments like when they make you a cupcake out of Play-Doh. Even the smallest moments every day can be a source of pride. If it can happen to simple people like us, it can happen to anyone. You just have to have the basics: the passion and love for something that you can bring into the world.” -Audrey
“I’m broad strokes, she’s the details. For us, it works because our strengths are complementary. As a designer, my proudest moment was being able to design for my idols like Michael Jackson, Michael Jordan, and Manny Pacquiao. Now I’m also proud that our work can resonate not just in our country, but all over the world. I’ve never been to France, Japan, Saudi Arabia … but people are buying our designs there. Our designs are traveling around the world where we can’t even go yet.” -AJ
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