Netflix's ‘Next In Fashion’ Charles Lu Exploited by Former Employer for $100K

Check Out 6buzz Article “EXCLUSIVE: Netflix’s Next In Fashion Charles Lu Speaks on Exploitation and LOSING $100k” : https://6ix.buzz/charles-lu-nextinfashion/

Netflix’s Next In Fashion Canadian Designer contestant Charles Lu (@charles___lu) telling us his story about how he was exploited by former employer $100,000 in Dubai. Watch full interview below:

Netflix’s Next In Fashion Canadian Designer contestant Charles Lu shares his story about being exploited by former employer for $100K

Interviewed by Canada Fashion Network’s Co-Founders, Lidia Tesfamicael and Luxi Mathi.

Canada Fashion Network Founders, speak with Canadian Designer, Charles Lu to help shed light on the hardships he has faced in the fashion industry— leading him to losing $100K. Lidia and Luxi, dive into getting to know Charles, his experiences, how to contribute to his fundraiser and how he is continuing to empower Canadians through his story and designs. Canada Fashion Network is to be a platform for the Canadian fashion industry have a voice. Join the community, share your stories, experiences and journeys. We are here for you and there are too many stories left untold.

Les fondatrices du Réseau de la mode du Canada, discutent avec le designer canadien, Charles Lu, pour l’aider à éclairer les difficultés auxquelles il a été confronté dans l’industrie de la mode, perdant 100 000 $. Lidia et Luxi apprennent à connaître Charles, ses expériences, comment contribuer à sa collecte de fonds et comment il continue de responsabiliser les Canadiens grâce à son histoire et ses créations. La réseau de la mode du Canada est une plate-forme pour que l'industrie canadienne de la mode ait une voix. Joignez-vous à la communauté, partagez vos histoires, expériences et voyages. Nous sommes là pour vous et il y a trop d'histoires non racontées.

[Transcript]

Lidia: Hi everyone, so today Luxi and I will be talking with a special guest, you might know him from Next in Fashion-- Charles Lu. Tell us a little bit about yourself. Your background, and how everything all started?

Charles: I’m a Hamilton born designer, I studied in London and I’ve also worked in Dubai.

Lidia: What inspired you to design?

Charles: I got into design because when I was little I was surrounded by art and I did that for myself and I always wanted to be an artist and then I applied that to the medium of fashion. And I slowly got into designing for my sisters, my mother, and I eventually built a substantial portfolio by the time I was in high school.

Luxi: Where did you meet your former employer?

Charles: I found Arushi Couture through LinkedIn, and they were looking for a Head Designer. And I submitted my application, and then within I think about less than a year, I moved to Dubai to work for Arushi Couture-- as their Head Senior Designer, which eventually moved to a Creative Directorial Position. 

Luxi: Please share your story with us, and how you lost 100 thousand dollars?

Charles: Towards the end of I think my third year in Dubai, finances weren’t the best at my company, and it was for a lot of things that were beyond my control. We didn’t have marketing, we didn’t have-- we only just introduce ready to wear and so we didn’t have a stable income or a passive income for the brand. And eventually I was let go, but before that my payment was deterred by a month, then one month turns to two months, and then three months, and then you were constantly chasing your last salary. And by that point I was already four months no salary, so used up all my savings to stay afloat in Dubai, and I had to take my work basically to court. And to this day, I mean it’s been a year long process I’ve spent umm with my boss I think she owes me a figure of 219 thousand dirhams, and collectively with my lawyers fees, that came up to, I think I lost about a hundred thousand dollars I would say. For sure. And to this day, I have yet to see this money. So in Dubai it’s a completely different ecosystem. So I have power of attorney right now, and it’s been a year long process--over a year long process of me getting all the documentation together and eventually the courts did side with me. But in terms of my boss actually getting those funds to me, it still hasn’t happened. So she fled the country to my knowledge or what I’ve heard from my ex co-workers after France, and they have not been able to reach her and all of her assets were basically liquidated, and I have had little contact with her. I think she’s reached out to me, but it was never of mention of anything in terms of payment back to me. Which is super frustrating and also very representative of what can happen in the fashion industry in terms of people who are more than willing to take from you and but won’t bat an eyelash--or won’t think twice about doing so. 

Lidia: What are some changes you would like to see in the Canadian fashion industry?

Definitely like to see Canadian fashion have a more open attitude in terms of letting newcomers in and also nurturing those talents because I think Canada being so young, we don’t really have a very clear identity in terms of our fashion and living in Dubai, living in London, you really see what their identity is about, their style, whereas Canadians are a little bit more utilitarian. And I think that may be a good thing, but it also hinders creative growth. There’s a lot of talent within Canada, a lot, a lot of talent, and I would like to see more showcasing of that, and also more funding from the government to really support our arts and culture and really take it seriously.

Luxi: What advice would you give to other designers like yourself?

Charles: You should go into design if you feel like you should add something that doesn’t exist into the world because originality is the driving force in fashion and design. It’s when you start to question things and make things different that it comes interesting and I don’t think you should be further polluting the design space with something that pre exists already just because you want to be the next big brand or the next Gucci, or the next this. It should be--ultimately it should be  an expression of yourself and I think honesty and truth and authenticity are very much needed in this space today and I think you should always be putting this idea of yourself first in terms of your design experience and not be always not be blowing from what’s happening around you. That’s really important cause that’s the first part, the second part is once you have that sense of originality and your voice, people you’ll find in this space that you’ll be--you should be naive-- you shouldn’t  be naive but you should be very open to absorbing information and learning but in that process when you find that voice and it--and it becomes more valuable you need to protect yourself because there are people who want to take from you. And like that have taken from me and I think it’s very important that you safeguard yourself and you learn from eahc experience and if you know that what you’re doing in your own design is worthwhile has power, has originality-- it really is a reflection of the value that you’re adding into the world. SO definitely, definitely, definitely protect that. Save those contracts, print everything out, record every email conversation. Have it in writing cause really that’s at the end of the day what people look for I think design accountability. 

Lidia: With everything that happened, what are you doing next?

Charles: The whole point of the GoFundMe was basically to take something that was a really negative experience for me and not only reclaim it and make it known, but also take something really horrible and bring something very beautiful out of it. So I wanted to take something that a situation where someone really took from me and I wanted to turn it on its axis and say and have it be all about the support, all about the love. And that’s really fuelling me to work on my collection right now. I am calling it a one man brand, a one man show, I am literally doing everything from sourcing to creating, to pattern making to sewing, every single thing from this collection and I don’t have any help. I prefer it that way at the moment just because it can be the most honest expression of my work because for the last decade I have worked for other people and even though it was very much my work, I always had to compromise from one way or another. I think great design comes from constraint as well, but I think in this particular case, it is going to be something I can fully stand behind because at the end of the day, it’s created with my own hands, I call the shots, I’ve made every decision and it’s something that is very honest expression of my work and myself and my beliefs. 

I hope my support for the Canada Fashion Network really brings more support towards new young growth and really showcasing those young designers.

Thank you Canada Fashion Network for having me here, it was an absolute pleasure. If you guys want to find out more about me, please go to my instagram @charle___lu, and you can find my GoFundMe in the link if you want to support my brand, and my website is also www.charles-lu.com. Thank you.

Lidia: If you want us to know about your story please fill out our GoogleForm at the bottom, please fill it out and tell us your experience in working in the Canadian fashion industry. We’re here to listen to you. 

Interview Video Link: https://youtu.be/mNJDtMe6D7Y