Eye on the red carpet

Fan Bingbing wears Bu's Forbidden City-inspired gown at the Met Gala in New York.

The only indie Chinese designer to be invited by the soft-drink company, Bu was approached after the brand saw his designs, which are best known for their eccentric elegance.

"When I'm in a restaurant, I always look for the contour bottle. So when they came to me, I thought it would be great fun," Bu, in his mid 30s, told China Daily in September.

It took Bu a year to create the collection. He went through the archives of the brand over the last 100 years and created new patterns and shapes based on the archives.

"It (going through the archives) was like opening a treasure trove ... And it also teaches you how to build a brand over 100 years," he says.

"The way they have maintained and innovated on the original design was inspiring to me as an entrepreneur," he adds.

Aside from his namesake couture line, Bu has a ready-to-wear label Chris by Christopher Bu, which aims to dress more ordinary city women other than celebrities. It is also part of his business strategy.

"You have to feed yourself before battling. If the couture line is my spirit, the ready-to-wear line is my bread," he says.

Be it couture or ready-to-wear, Bu says he makes clothes for women who want to stand out.