Chula co-founders Diego Cortizas del Valle and Laura Fontan met in university, he studied architecture and she was pursuing a major in political science.

They shared many passions, music, photography, cinema, art, and together they remained together as they each explored the world: Brazil, Mexico, Portugal, London and Guinea-Bissau.

In 2003, they traveled to Viet Nam for a wedding celebration. Impacted by its vibrant energy, multi-layered culture, and unique textiles, Diego and Laura decided to quit their jobs and move to Hanoi for a sabbatical year.

One day, Laura asked Diego to sketch some skirt designes for her to get tailored. Over the next week, Diego made over one hundred sketches in the humorous and creative style that would soon become Chula.

As their production needs grew, Diego and Laura decided to establish a workshop in their own home where they could work closely with the tailors, include them in the ideation process, and cultivate a studio and work-shop environment within the shop.

Recommended by a friend, they contacted Hoa Sua, a Vietnamese NGO offering employment training for people with dissabilities. Duong was the first member of the Chula family, a deaf and non-verbal communicator who continues to work at Chula today.

Their vision was to create a 360 degree space in which customers could enter and not only buy clothes, but engage with them, become part of the creative process, discuss with the designer, and meet those creating what they would leave wearing.

In the past twenty years, Chula “has become a reference in the Vietnamese fashion and art scene, being the only foreign fashion brand to take part in every Vietnamese Fashion Week since 2011. Their collections have also been displayed on global runways: Colorado's Grand Canyon (2014), Dubai Expo (2019), Ethiopia, Ghana, Paris, NY and many more.

Most memorably, in 2020, Diego and Laura were each awarded the Medal of Civil Merit by the King of Spain Felipe VI for their work in building bridges between Spain and Vietnam.