Couture on Walls
Journey with Couture from Fashion to Interiors
My love of fashion has been in me for as long as I can recall: I am the girl who grew up in Hong Kong living and breathing fashion; I am my teenage self with stacks of Vogue magazines in my dorm room at boarding school and skiving church to go shopping in London; I am also almost, the Anne Hathaway of “Devil wears Prada” throughout my 20s in NYC, taking so much crap namely my star moment of being thrown into a closet when Tom Ford entered the room. “Mr Ford is not comfortable seeing unfamiliar faces.” says his fabulous team. O ANYTHING for the thrill and beauty of fashion!
“Dress for Success” rings in my ears as my old boss glares at my flats just as we were about to enter the grand lobby of Esteé Lauder headquarters. I have trained myself since to always have heels with me, I can pretty much run a marathon in heels. Only my recent years as a mother of 2 that I finally own sneakers, embellished ones of course.
Source: Biography
https://www.biography.com/news/the-devil-wears-prada-movie-facts
My first encounter of couture was for one of my first shows as design director of a luxury event production company in NYC. 1 year out of Parsons, with my only real work experience at a museum exhibition design firm, I had NO IDEA what I was doing. The client was Marchesa, Georgina Chapman and Karen Craig, both English, I was happy to feel the familiar accent and mannerisms again after how many years of schooling in England. I will never forget, it was candy shop on steroids, Victorian ruffles, traditional Indian hand-embroidery works, embellishments that sparkled like diamonds. I was star-struck in every possible way. The presentation was stunning of course, with doll-like models draped in bows, a gift from heaven, delicately propped on large mirror pedestals, literally like entering into a music box of the most precious dolls. The entire time I was wishing that my job was not to create the architectural display of the blocks, but to learn everything about embroideries and embellishments.
I’ve chosen interior design at an early age, went through the toughest 3 years of living in the architecture studio at Parsons, the thought of switching fields to me was not really an option. Years after, with my love of fashion and more specifically embroideries still at the back of my mind, I figured if we can have sparkles on fashion, why can’t we have them for interiors, on walls!!
I spent the last 10 years building our archive of most original artwork, exploring and investing into our atelier of artisans who make the most exquisite embroidery works. Our hand-painted wallpaper artisans all have generations of know-how, specializing in Chinese Gong-bi painting for 18th century Chinoiserie export wallpaper. We are pushing boundaries every day, encouraging our artisans to try things that they have never tried before, to paint that seaweed or abstract triangle in the same manner as the birds and trees they are used to. Our embroidery atelier, shocked to the embellishments that we challenge them to use, the size either too large or too minute. REAL PEARLS on walls, WHAT?! I hear them gasp. We maybe just a little OTT but when all is done with such intricacy and such passion for creativity, the results blows our mind everytime!
I traveled back to where it all began, visiting the atelier of Marchesa for my wedding dresses. I had the honor of collaborating with Karen Craig on my red wedding dress, with a taffeta train hand-painted by our LALA CURIO artisans, of humming birds and leaves with pearls, echoing the heavy embroidery works on the top. Our LALA CURIO journey started with that sparkle that stayed with me, we continue to go through all measures for the thrill and beauty that we bring to the most spectacular interiors.
Founder and interior designer, Laura Cheung Wolf’s house is an art itself. This place is a combination of love, family, and her view of art. Laura decorates every corner precisely by using refined decorations, chinoiserie furniture, and hand-painted wallpaper.