More Than Money

Christine Chiu, star and producer of Netflix’s hit series Bling Empire, says viewers tune in for the glamour and stay for the heart. With season two set to be released later this year, she explains why representation matters

- Tara Sobti

Make no mistake: Christine Chiu lives a life of extravagance. In 2019, she and her husband, plastic surgeon Gabriel Chiu, made headlines when they booked out the glitzy Beverly Hills shopping destination Two Rodeo for an over-the-top Chinese New Year party. Lychee martinis and champagne flowed alongside catering by Wolfgang Puck. Dancers, magicians, fortune tellers and martial artists entertained guests, who took home lai see envelopes from a tree filled with money.

Later that year, when the Chius’ son, Gabriel Christian Chiu III, aka “Baby G”, turned one, the family threw a party at the Cayton Children’s Museum in Santa Monica, complete with a custom-built rollercoaster, ferris wheel, arcade, ten-course meal and a claw crane machine filled with Gucci gifts. Both events were caught on camera for Bling Empire, the reality series released on Netflix in January, which documents the wild antics of a group of wealthy Asians and Asian-Americans living in Los Angeles. The indulgent lifestyles and petty battles on display made the series a runaway hit and a much-needed source of escapism during the pandemic.

Chiu’s affinity for haute couture is well-documented on the show, and she is a regular at international fashion weeks, flying by private aircraft to Paris twice a year for shopping sprees and reportedly spending six-figure sums on pieces from Dior, Chanel and Dolce & Gabbana. “Fashion is the most exciting storyteller. Haute couture is art and I try to acquire at least one piece from each show I attend, to collect an element of fashion history,” she says from Los Angeles. Her favourite fashion week memories include eating bread pudding at the actual home of Louis Vuitton in Asnières, France, dinner on the stage of La Scala in Milan and her own private baby shower hosted by Armani.