
Bling Empire’s Christine Chiu, Sheikha Moza and Queen Rania wear haute couture – who else is part of this exclusive club?
- Only a handful of fashion labels make haute couture – Chanel, Dior and Valentino among them
- Prices for haute couture garments, which are handmade in Paris, range from about US$10,000 to up to US$300,000
In the Netflix reality show Bling Empire, Taiwanese-American Christine Chiu loves to boast about her extensive couture collection. It’s easy to understand why.
Back in the day, American and European heiresses accounted for the lion’s share of couture customers, but these days the couture ateliers of Paris in France cater to Middle Eastern royals, Russian oligarchs and ultra-wealthy Asians.
Prices for couture garments, which are handmade in Paris, range from about US$10,000 for a simple day outfit to as much as US$300,000 for more complex items, such as embroidered gowns that can take hundreds of hours to make. The creation of each piece, custom made to fit the wearer’s body like a glove, requires a series of fittings, which normally take place in the French capital, or at one of the client’s residences if that is their wish.

Here’s a look at some privileged women who are well-known couture customers.

Sheikha Moza bint Nasser Al Missned
Sheikha Moza, the wife of the former Emir (the head of state) of Qatar, is considered the chicest woman in the Middle East. She often has her couture creations customised to meet the modesty requirements of Qatar.
A loyal buyer of top brands such as Chanel and Valentino, which incidentally is owned by a Qatari investment fund, she also supports smaller couture brands such as Ulyana Sergeenko and Stéphane Rolland.

Danielle Steel
This San Francisco-based writer needs no introduction – her romance novels have made her one of the bestselling authors in the world.
Steel is a regular at the couture shows in Paris, where she is often ensconced in the front row next to top celebrities or her equally fashion-obsessed daughters Vanessa and Samantha Traina. She is a big fan of Chanel couture.

Lynn Wyatt
The 85-year-old Texan socialite and philanthropist, who lives in Houston in the United States, is the heiress of a department store chain, while her husband, Oscar Wyatt, is an energy and oil tycoon.
Wyatt, a long-time collector of haute couture, owns rare pieces from the early days of Karl Lagerfeld at Chanel and original outfits created by the late Yves Saint Laurent himself.

Mouna Ayoub Zulu
In the ’90s she famously sold the “Mouna diamond”, one of the largest yellow diamonds ever, to help pay for a massive yacht. She is a fan of designer Jean Paul Gaultier.

Anar Aitzhanova
The widow of Yerzhan Tatishev, the chairman of Bank Turan Alem, Aitzhanova (who comes from Kazakhstan) made headlines when she bought one of London’s most expensive flats in 2013.

Queen Rania of Jordan
Married to King Abdullah of Jordan, Queen Rania is one of the world’s most photographed royals, thanks in no small part to her impeccable style.

Wendy Yu
