NAUTICA

Nautica: translation

(1953- )

Taiwanese-bornDavid Chufound his way into the fashion business via his architecture studies where one of his teachers at theFashion Institute of Technologysaw 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 inspiredmenswearand sold them toBarneysandBloomingdale's. Within ten years, the company went from sales of $700,000 to $1 billion. In 2003, Nautica merged with theVF Corporationand 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.