Christine Chiu gives Who What Wear a tour of her world of haute couture and shares some of her rarest and most sentimental pieces. Watch above to see some of her luxurious items.
Christine’s couture collection is housed in a secure facility with expert curation, temperature control and 24 hour security.
Christine’s couture collection is housed in a secure facility with expert curation, temperature control and 24 hour security.
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00:00 I'm filming you, you're filming me.
00:02 (laughing)
00:03 Couture is my passion.
00:06 Couture is a collection of the most brilliant minds
00:11 in the world of fashion,
00:13 and it's a space where fashion designers
00:16 get to be as fantastical, over the top,
00:20 intricate, and intimate with their materials and creation
00:24 as ever, without any limit.
00:26 When price is not an object,
00:29 there are no ceilings on what they can create.
00:33 I personally have been collecting haute couture
00:37 for over 10 years, I think closer to 15 years now,
00:40 and with each year and each season,
00:43 my mind continues to be blown.
00:46 So one of the primary differences
00:48 between ready-to-wear and haute couture
00:50 is the exclusivity of it,
00:52 and that really has to do with reproduction.
00:55 In haute couture, only one piece is made,
00:57 and one piece is made by hand.
01:00 I think on average, tens of thousands of hours
01:03 goes into every single piece.
01:05 There isn't one second that I'm at Couture Week
01:08 where I'm not learning something new about fashion history,
01:11 or about the designers,
01:12 or about even the sourcing of materials,
01:15 or the processes, or the advancements of fashion technology.
01:19 So we're just gonna hop into my treasure trove
01:22 of couture stories.
01:24 So this is an Idli Saab haute couture gown,
01:27 and of course it's beautiful and luxurious,
01:29 but the funny story behind this
01:31 is I was having dinner with Prince Charles
01:34 and Duchess Camilla at Buckingham Palace,
01:37 and the conservative gown that I had planned to wear
01:40 got stuck at customs.
01:42 So the only other thing I had in my luggage
01:44 was this really risque, deep V gown with a high slit,
01:49 like higher than the bone slit,
01:52 and it was either this or naked.
01:55 So I decided to wear this.
01:57 I broke all of the rules in Buckingham Palace.
01:59 There are rules on modesty.
02:02 It was very naughty, and of course,
02:05 I did not know they had placed me next to Prince Charles.
02:08 So that was quite embarrassing.
02:11 This is an Armani Privé piece, and I love this piece.
02:16 This probably is my favorite haute couture piece
02:19 because it's a jumpsuit, and it has pockets,
02:23 and I love anything functional and practical.
02:26 If you look at every detail,
02:28 every embellishment was done by hand,
02:30 and it's so delightful and fun and comfortable.
02:35 That's the most important thing, is comfort.
02:37 I often get asked, "Do you prefer French couture houses
02:41 "or Italian couture houses?"
02:42 And that's a very tricky question,
02:44 but I have to say that the Italian couture houses
02:47 come with the Italian family hospitality,
02:51 and that extra level of warmth definitely makes things
02:56 and the experience more fun.
02:57 This is my next couture piece,
03:01 and this is a Dolce & Gabbana Altamoda couture dress
03:06 that was exhibited in the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
03:09 I loaned it to them for their Heavenly Bodies exhibition.
03:12 It comes with a cape, and also, I call it a Pope hat,
03:16 but I was corrected.
03:17 It's a Bishop, not a Pope.
03:20 Overly ambitious.
03:21 This is a Versace Atelier haute couture gown
03:26 that has very special memories for me
03:30 of the Cannes Film Festival,
03:32 because I had it essentially fitted during my time
03:36 on a boat in the French Riviera.
03:39 It was a very dreamy time and a romantic time
03:41 I had with my husband, and the entire team came on board,
03:46 and the boat was rocky,
03:48 and everyone was with pins and needles
03:50 trying to stitch me in.
03:52 This is the Grand Dame of haute couture, Chanel haute couture.
03:57 Chanel haute couture was my very first couture purchase.
04:01 I started my fascination, love, passion collection
04:05 of haute couture with Chanel.
04:06 This is from the first collection after Karl passed away.
04:11 I love this because I've had the same seamstress
04:14 at Chanel haute couture for a very long time,
04:16 and she knows that I like to break the rules
04:20 once in a while, and I like to add my own special touches.
04:23 So after the house approves of a look,
04:26 she always goes in and helps me add something fun.
04:30 This look was shown in the show, but I like sparkles,
04:34 so she added these little sparkle details throughout,
04:38 and you can see them everywhere.
04:40 And another fun fact with haute couture
04:42 is that everything is custom.
04:43 So believe it or not, our bodies are not symmetrical,
04:47 so my right arm is thicker than my left arm.
04:50 And so with pieces that are basically perfected
04:55 to your body, like this sleeve is bigger than this sleeve.
04:59 So if you try to wear this, it would not fit you.
05:02 This is a recent Valentino haute couture slip dress,
05:07 and although it looks very kind of demure
05:11 and simple on the hanger, it has a big impact
05:14 because of the craftsmanship and the elegance it carries.
05:19 And that's what I love about Valentino haute couture.
05:21 By the way, I love the entire team at Valentino haute couture.
05:25 They are, how do I describe them?
05:28 They're like family.
05:29 Katya, who's the director of haute couture,
05:32 I wore this at the most recent couture week,
05:35 and in the middle of backstage fittings
05:38 and all of the craziness,
05:39 because they were going to have their show
05:41 in a couple of hours, she actually came into my hotel room
05:45 and helped me fit into this.
05:47 This comes with a very iconic ostrich hat,
05:52 and
05:52 which requires really a guide when you're walking,
06:01 and these luxurious gloves.
06:06 There's a history on this particular leather,
06:09 which is no longer available.
06:11 The house of Valentino couture saved it just for this look,
06:16 and it fits me like a glove.
06:17 This piece is a fun lesson
06:22 in the social warfare of haute couture.
06:26 This is a Jean-Baptiste Valle haute couture gown.
06:30 You know, in haute couture,
06:32 the special part of it is there should only be one owner
06:36 of one piece,
06:37 and they never make the same piece twice.
06:39 So this was the first time when I bought a piece,
06:43 and I also saw a celebrity wear it.
06:46 So it was kind of an awkward moment,
06:48 but fortunately, the celebrity who wore it
06:51 is someone I really look up to and respect and admire,
06:54 so it made the sting just a little less hurtful.
06:59 This is a Dolce & Gabbana Altamoda piece again.
07:04 So many things to say about this,
07:06 but I really respect the craftsmanship of this.
07:10 This is, I mean, if you've ever tried
07:12 to hand embroider anything,
07:14 you can appreciate the thousands,
07:16 tens of thousands of hours that went into this piece.
07:20 But the funny part of this piece is,
07:23 and I actually didn't bring it,
07:25 and I'm really surprised I'm gonna tell you this.
07:27 It comes with like these hot shorts, like boy shorts.
07:33 At this time, I had lost so much weight
07:35 that all of the fat in my butt went away.
07:37 And so it just didn't look so great.
07:40 So in a very delicate fashion,
07:43 the Dolce & Gabbana team asked,
07:45 since they were making everything custom,
07:47 if I would like some padding in my hot shorts.
07:51 And of course I said yes.
07:52 So when I was wearing this,
07:54 I had basically like a Kardashian butt,
07:56 and I really enjoyed it.
07:58 This is another Chanel haute couture set.
08:03 And this set is particularly special to me.
08:06 And I'm getting goosebumps just thinking about it
08:08 because Chanel haute couture has been a house
08:12 that I've been with for a very long time collecting from,
08:15 and the team I've known for a very long time.
08:17 So we've gone through all of life's
08:19 kind of journeys together.
08:20 As some of you may know,
08:22 I had 10 years of difficulties in trying to have a child.
08:27 And in those 10 years, I went through seven rounds of IVF.
08:31 And for those of you who maybe have gone through
08:34 infertility treatments,
08:35 you know that it does a number to your body
08:38 and obviously your mind,
08:40 and particularly your body swells, contracts.
08:44 It just does weird stuff to the shape and weight.
08:46 And Chanel haute couture was so patient with me.
08:49 They actually made this look four times
08:53 because my weight fluctuated four times.
08:56 Allegedly, they lost money on this look,
09:00 but they gained a lifelong loyal customer, so, and friend.
09:05 So when I look at this piece,
09:08 I remember my struggles in infertility
09:10 and ultimately the triumph with baby G.
09:14 This is another Chanel haute couture piece.
09:18 I just love the sparkles.
09:20 Chanel's so fun.
09:21 Actually, every house is so great
09:23 that they like to give you surprise gifts along the way.
09:26 And Chanel made these custom sandals for me that laced up.
09:31 Chanel works with this house called Massaro,
09:36 who is basically the industry standard for shoes.
09:41 So anyway, Chanel gifted me, you might die,
09:46 but those sandals are 7,000 euros.
09:50 And they gifted me a pair when I bought this dress,
09:52 which was so kind.
09:54 And this is another Armani Prive look.
09:57 And I love this piece
09:58 because I actually hate the color purple.
10:02 Growing up, my mom was fascinated and obsessed with purple.
10:06 So I lived in a purple house with purple rug,
10:09 with purple furniture, with purple wallpaper,
10:12 and she wore purple head to toe.
10:14 So I hate the color purple,
10:16 but I trusted the house and they said Armani Prive,
10:20 and they said that this look really should be done in purple.
10:24 And so we went with it.
10:27 Since my mother has passed away, when I look at this piece,
10:30 I think of her, and I'm really pleased
10:34 that I went forward with purple.
10:36 This is another Armani Prive gown
10:38 that I love in this mint green.
10:40 And the best part of this gown
10:42 is that it comes with a little bow.
10:45 No, it does not go on the head.
10:47 It actually is like a little shawl.
10:50 So you wear it behind your back.
10:54 You can wear it like a little shawl like this.
10:56 You know, just casual.
11:00 Okay, so let's hop into the accessories.
11:04 These boots are super special
11:08 because when I first started my journey with Haute Couture,
11:13 I couldn't get over how I could possibly spend
11:17 150, 200, 250 and up thousand euros on a dress.
11:23 And so I had to start smaller
11:25 and kind of tiptoe my way in.
11:29 So these guys are less than that.
11:32 They're all made to measure.
11:33 So they measure your calves and your ankles.
11:37 It's sometimes quite embarrassing,
11:39 but you do it and it fits really well.
11:41 And of course they're so comfortable to walk in
11:43 because it's made to accommodate every curvature
11:46 and oddity in your foot.
11:48 I love collecting Chanel specialty clutches and bags.
11:53 So I have a bunch.
11:54 This I love in particular because storytelling
11:58 and any form of storytelling is a passion of mine.
12:01 This reminds me why I love fashion,
12:03 because it tells great stories.
12:05 Also, sometimes people don't realize
12:10 that couture houses have wonderful accessories.
12:14 One season, I didn't find a gown that spoke to me,
12:17 but I found a bunch of accessories that I loved.
12:21 So that year I gifted all of my girlfriends
12:24 Haute Couture clutches, gloves,
12:27 and bracelets from Armani Privé.
12:30 So these are some of the bracelets that I gifted my friends.
12:33 This you might remember from "Bling Empire" season one.
12:39 This is not couture, but there was a moment
12:42 where I said me and my couture are leaving.
12:45 And so, gotta go.
12:47 Me and my couture are leaving.
12:48 (upbeat music)
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