Since buying back her family-owned company in 2023, Chan Luu chief executive officer and creative director Tessa Tran has been successfully expanding the brand's ready-to-wear with optimistic, throughtful and artisanal designs.

Initially known as an accessories label, Chan Luu has been making a strong push into ready-to-wear and reviving the brand under the helm of chief executive officer and creative director Tessa Tran.

Founded in 1996 as a passion project by Vietnamese-born designer Chan Luu, the brand became known for fine jewelry, artisanal accessories and a small amount of ready-to-wear, a category that was paused before the pandemic. In 2014, Luu sold a majority stake to private investors. During this time, Luu’s niece, Tran, who joined the company as an intern and worked her way up, stayed on and eventually fully bought back the company in 2023.

“I was always interested in apparel, and I had this idea about creating a clothing line that was like an accessory because Chan Luu is an accessories brand,” Tran told WWD. “It first started off as a lot of skus in three sizes, because I wanted to treat each item as an accessory to be layered on. The first line that we launched three to four years ago included chiffon dresses that could fit sizes 0 to 12 or long, printed caftans. Now that it’s grown, we’ve gone into sizing but I still identify with the clothing as an accessory still.”

Tran explained that in ready-to-wear, the brand’s Techno Taffeta trousers, Pinch Waist Cardigan and lightweight outerwear, including the Vienna Coat, have been strong sales drivers, helping push the category from making up 15 percent of its e-commerce business last year to almost 50 percent today.

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