Director of Chula fashion brand, Diego Cortizas dell Valle

“I like to work in Vietnam. My wife and I have three children all born in Hanoi. I like Vietnamese rice, visiting Ha Long Bay and Cat Ba island. Learning Vietnamese is a little bit difficult for me”.Using even the body language, the Director of Chula fashion brand, Diego Cortizas dell Valle, tried to express his and his family’s love for Vietnam, especially Hanoi, where they often troll around streets to get inspiration for their designs. Diego says:“We really want to incorporate the beauty of Hanoi streets into our designs and make them diverse and global. Chula’s customers are our friends and tourists from different countries who are very interested in Vietnamese silk. Our motto is to satisfy all tastes of fashion lovers with products imbued to Vietnamese style”.

Having been a client of Chula for nearly 3 years, Filipino Carmelita says she is a crazy fan of Chula collections, a famous brand for many expats in Hanoi:"Chula dresses are unique and eye-catching. They are completely made of Vietnamese materials. Whenever I return home or travel overseas, I often bring along with Chula fashion. Once I was on the plane, a passenger asked me about this fashion style”.

Diego’s love for Vietnam is also reflected in the décor of his house in Tay Ho, Hanoi. Vietnamese conical hats, baskets, and brocade clothes are skillfully made to decorate the sofas. The door and walls of the house greet visitors with images of Vietnamese women dressed in traditional long dress "Ao Dai". The owners of the house, Laura and Diego, devoted special attention to the Vietnamese female robe, and put it into a large picture with 4 Vietnamese women dressed in traditional costumes. In the garden there is also Ao Dai dress designs. All this shows Chula creator and his family’s love for Vietnam. Diego said:"Everything in Vietnam: landscape, people, food, crafts and cloth materials inspires us a lot. The Vietnamese culture touches our soul. Though Vietnam is in Asian and Spain in Europe, they both share similarities. In addition to history and climate, we also have in common love for family and parents’ care for their children. Spanish flamenco is also similar to Vietnamese Ca tru folk singing”.

"Collection with Music" was presented to the public recently in Chula designer house. In the the sound of melodies from various regions such as Europe or Latin America, Diego presented the designs depicting different cultures and musical styles, all made with materials of Vietnam. Meanwhile, the traditional long dress "Ao Dai" was shown on the background of "Ca Tru" folk music.With love for Vietnam, Chula Director chose "Ca Tru" and "Ao Dai" as representatives of Vietnamese culture in his new collection.

Most of employees in Chula are hearing impaired people. The friendly director always helps them to overcome their difficulties so that they can show their passion for designing and tailoring. The language barrier can’t prevent Diego from merging into Vietnamese soul. During his 9 years living in Hanoi, he has always tried to incorporate Vietnamese style into his collections.

Thu Ha