Chelsea Chau-Kuok will be the first to admit her mother represents the pinnacle of style—but Chelsea has a signature look that’s all her own
Chelsea Chau-Kuok is twirling in a green patterned kaftan against a backdrop of sherbet-hued clouds. Kiss by Prince is playing in the background, the sound bouncing off the studio walls. Amid the jewellery dripping from her ears, neck and wrists, I notice a thick, solid jade bangle bound tightly around her left arm.
“I never take it off,” Chau-Kuok later tells me. “I’ve worn one since childhood and have gone through a few over the years. In Chinese tradition, it’s said that jade is supposed to protect you, and when it breaks or shatters, it means it has absorbed bad energy or pain for you.”
In fact, the only time she has ever taken off her jade bracelet was during the birth of one of her and husband Justin Kuok’s two sons, one aged two and the other just six months. After the shoot, Chau-Kuok has to rush to take their two-year-old to a music class. “They’re going to think I’m crazy, walking in there with my hair done and this full face of make-up,” she quips.
I ask if the jade bracelet tradition is one she will pass on to her children. “Definitely! I mean, if I have a girl,” she says coyly with a laugh. A mother-daughter bond over fashion is something that Chau-Kuok knows well.
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Style runs in the family
Her mother, Reina Chau, is a fixture in Hong Kong’s social scene and always lands a spot on the city’s best-dressed lists, even taking home the most stylish award at the 2012 Tatler Ball.
Reina Chau is certainly an edgier dresser, and it wouldn’t be surprising to catch her in a head-to-toe ensemble by Comme des Garçons. Her affinity for sculptural, artistic pieces could be credited to her love of the arts—an avid collector, Chau regularly attends VIP exhibition previews, as well as private dinners with artists, designers and gallerists. She’s dined with the likes of Pearl Lam, Donatella Versace and Baz Luhrmann.
“People constantly stop her on the street to ask about a piece she’s wearing,” says Chau-Kuok, a Stanford University graduate who later studied at the Gemological Institute of America in New York before establishing her own jewellery company, SW1 Projects. Today, Kuok is a dedicated full-time mother of two. “If I ever get stopped, it’s usually because I’m wearing something of hers. She is definitely trendier and more adventurous than me.”
Unfortunately, they don’t share the same shoe size—Chau-Kuok, a size 35, says it’s “rare” to find shoes that fit her size and her style—but she still has connections. “My dear friend Edmundo Castillo is the global head of product design for Stuart Weitzman and he has designed a custom pair for every big moment in my life,” she says.
See also: Hot Mama: 10 Of The Most Stylish Mums In Hong Kong