What to know
- Charles Lu rose to prominence on Project Runway Canada and Netflix’s Next in Fashion, showcasing his technical skill and creative vision.
- His latest work draws deeply from his family’s story, weaving personal heritage into contemporary fashion.
- Lu’s collections serve as an ongoing tribute, a “love letter” to his cultural background, blending tradition with modern design.
- Beyond television, he continues to influence the fashion world, championing diversity on and off the runway.
Hamilton-born fashion designer Charles Lu captured international attention on Project Runway Canada and Netflix’s Next in Fashion. Now, he’s sewing his family’s history and culture into every collection, turning the runway into a tribute to his roots.
His parents fled the country as refugees during the Vietnam War, tying Lu deeply in its history and having grown up as a second-generation Vietnamese child of immigrants and refugees. So, he’s using fashion as a vessel to tell his heritage.
“I’m allowing myself not to be in the forefront of what I do, and actually extending that storyline, and allowing my parents to be the vessel in which they tell their story because it’s my history, it’s my heritage,” Lu told Now Toronto. “I removed the ego aspect from the design, and I put someone else and my family first before that.”
Lu calls his collection a love letter to his family heritage.
“I really wanted to basically paint their history into fabric and draw from inspiration of like the heyday of Vietnam, and kind of tie it to the Canadian identity, and also just kind of unify and tell their story as like a second-generation Vietnamese child of immigrants and refugees,” he said.
“When people see my pieces, I want them to feel very happy, very emotional, and I want them to find the beauty in the conversations that we usually don’t have,” Lu added.
Lu’s experience on Next in Fashion and Project Runway Canada
Charles Lu first shared his story on screen during a Next in Fashion episode and has come a long way since then, illustrating his family’s history through fashion and staying true to himself.
“The biggest lesson I’ve learned while being on TV was to always stay authentic and true to yourself. Because if you are authentic, then really no one can take that away from you,” Lu shared.
But when he learned he would appear on another reality TV show after Next in Fashion, Lu felt he had accomplished a lifelong dream.
“When Project Runway Canada returned, that was a lifelong dream for me. I applied, I got it, and it really allowed me to dig into parts of myself that I didn’t know were there, and I pulled out more soft and romantic pieces,” Lu said.
Life after reality TV
Lu shared that after filming Next in Fashion, COVID hit, and that hit his creativity and motivation hard.
“It was such a weird period for me because all of a sudden, I had a stage where I didn’t know what to do. I kind of forced myself out of a victim mentality, and really created a collection, which was the collection one,” he said.
“That kind of brought me step-by-step to where I am today, and it led me here. So you never really know where you’re going to end up, but you have to trust the universe to put you in the right spot and meet the right people,” Lu added.
Recently, Lu has showcased his collection at Couture for a Cause, a $150,000 fundraiser supporting mental health at CAMH.
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After designing on and off TV, Lu learned to pave his own path in the industry.
“Never stop creating, never stop having the hunger to figure out the impossible. Fashion is not just about selling; it’s not just about designing. It is a business, and you have to deal with the uncomfortable. Sit with the uncomfortable, and when things get tough, figure them out,” he said.
“There really is no blueprint for a fashion designer. Everyone has a very specific journey, and it is really up to you to pave that way for yourself.”
