Italian haute couture house Curiel shows its four-generation history with the exhibition Curiel－History and Future at Milan Fashion Week in September. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Fiorenza Locatelli, a long-time client, says her family has been wearing Curiel since her grandmother's time.

"Curiel is for both young and old. It is something you can wear now and in many years' time," she says.

One of her orders was for a chiffon dress decorated with flowers, which she wore to the wedding of the Prince of Monaco last year.

As for Zhao, he is going to take the essence of the brand's haute couture and expand it to five lines, including haute couture, demi-couture, a ready-to-wear line of evening dresses and wedding gowns, and the Curiellino line that specializes in little black dresses.

There will also be a Curiel Baby line.

"We want to show the essence and history of the brand through this exhibition and to share the heritage of Italian fashion with the world," he says.

Contact the writer at sunyuanqing@chinadaily.com.cn