VietNamNet Bridge – He loves travel, having spent years going places around the world, and Hanoi is just a city among many destinations the Spanish architect has visited. But Diago Cortizas may have sensed some life-changing moments when staying in Hanoi for some time, as he made a crucial decision: giving up his career to start from scratch with his own fashion design business in Vietnam due to the love and passion for Vietnamese culture though touching images he captured in the capital city. He has keen eyes, and he has a sensitive heart, and as such, his business has thrived.

Fascinated by Vietnamese culture

Cortizas, along with his wife Laura, who has worked in the political science, had lived in many countries before moving to Vietnam.

Spanish designer Diago Cortizas (L) is seen on a catwalk with a fashion model donning one of his creations

“I have been fascinated by the culture and people of Vietnam when we came here ten years ago to visit some relatives and experience amazing tourist sites across the country. The experience pulled us back to the land and kept us here,” says Cortizas.

The middle-aged Spaniard says he found Hanoi a very charming land. The images of the century-old Long Bien Bridge, the ancient quarter, street vendors, baskets of lotus and so on made him decide for a longer stay in the city.

Back to those days in Hanoi, weaving through the old town crisscrossed with 36 streets named after different trades, Cortizas  was enchanted with the traditional Vietnamese dress ao dai made of silk and decorated with beautiful pieces of embroidery. The architect, then, ordered an ao dai made of silk for his wife which was designed by himself.

“To my surprise, the early work excited Laura. So did her friends. They continued to ask me for new designs of silk dress and ao dai for important events. Therefore, Laura and I thought: ‘why don’t we open a fashion company?’ That was how Chula came into life,” Cortizas confides to the Daily.

According to him, Chula is an exclamation in Spanish which means “Wow! Gorgeous!” He named his brand Chula for a desire to make people utter exclamations when seeing any piece of his works.

The house in which his products are displayed looks like a gallery of photography artists with red as the main decorating theme. However, the further customers go inside the house, the clearer oriental cultural features appear. You can see conical hats, bamboo baskets used as chairs, ancestral altar and the like.

Cortizas develops his own style by using silk fabric and artistic embroidered patterns with bold Vietnamese traditional features such as conical hat, lotus, Long Bien Bridge and images of the ancient quarter. His color gamut is a right combination of noisy colors such as red, orange, purple pink and quiet ones like black, green, blue, making people feel full of energy when wearing the costumes. Main products of Chula include dresses which are pieces of art, and hand-made silk products such as painting, embroidery and patchwork recombining cultures of Spain and Vietnam.

“The costumes of Chula are often used for special events such as gala nights, diplomatic receptions and the like. Therefore, many foreigners want to keep a special product which carries identities of Vietnamese culture. Not only expat but also local people are now aware of Chula’s products,” says Cortizas.

In the major market Vietnam, Chula’s shops are now located in Hanoi City and the ancient town of Hoi An in Quang Nam Province. Besides, products are also sold online and in Japan, Austria, Greece, Spain and Italy.

Garment workshop with silent smiles

Apart from his keen eyes, the Spanish architect-turn-designer also has a sensitive heart.

Initially, the couple did not intend to live permanently in Vietnam. Yet, the fashion career opened a new beginning for them. In the first days of the newly formed company, they were in a hurry to hunt high and low for silk materials, skilled tailors and embroiderers.

“Fortunately, I met Huong, a deaf skilled embroiderer. Although she suffers from hearing impairment, Huong has great concentration, keen eyes and clever hands. I am very satisfied with the products that she makes,” Cortizas recalls.

Gradually, the number of deaf-and-dumb people coming to work at Chula has increased, taking up 80% of the total of 60 workers. They do sewing, embroidery, electrical and repairing works at the shops.

 But Cortizas does not mean to do charitable work in recruiting such people.

According to Cortizas, disabled people have physical defects in some aspects, yet they possess advantages in others. When opportunities come, they can make it just as well as anyone else, creating wonderful works.

With a monthly salary at VND4-6 million and a working environment full of bright smiles, many dressmakers have been working at Chula since its establishment with no intention to move on to a new job.

SGT/VNN