(1953- )
Taiwanese-born David Chu found his way into the fashion business via his architecture studies where one of his teachers at the Fashion Institute of Technology saw his potential as a fashion designer. In 1993, after an unsuccessful export business venture in Taipei and a stint at a large conglomerate in the United States, Chu began designing nautical inspired menswear and sold them to Barneys and Bloomingdale's. Within ten years, the company went from sales of $700,000 to $1 billion. In 2003, Nautica merged with the VF Corporation and is now a wholly owned subsidiary of that corporation. In 2005, David Chu launched a new company called DC Design International, his own high-end collection of menswear.
Historical Dictionary of the Fashion Industry. Francesca Sterlacci and Joanne Arbuckle.