Fashion

Using Vietnamese Materials in the Fashion Industry

Recently, there has been a new trend in the Vietnamese fashion industry by designers who create high-end fashion products from Vietnamese traditional materials, in collaboration with fabric artisans. This aims at promoting the use of materials produced in the country as well as developing fabric producing villages. 
As one of the founding figures in Vietnam’s fashion industry, designer Minh Hanh has been a pioneer in the introduction of brocade material made by women in the northeastern area of Vietnam.  She was the first person in Vietnam’s fashion circle to use ramie materials from Thien An (Quang Ngai) and An Phuoc (Thanh Hoa) in her designs. Her newly introduced creations are all made from these types of fabric but have a modern appearance so that they can meet the demand of the contemporary fashion market.

Designer Minh Hanh was introduced to Thien An ramie as a local product at a meeting in Quang Ngai Province. It is said that this material can only be produced using the old loom in Nam Cao village. She immediately bought 30m of this material to produce new designs. Minh Hanh said that most foreigners only know about brocade while ramie is often neglected. To choose this material as the basis for her new designs, she wants to emphasize the richness and availability of plant-based fabrics in Vietnam that should be utilised in the fashion industry for the purpose of sustainable development.

Designers presenting themselves on a stage during fashion week.
Some of the showcased collections are made from Vietnamese natural and traditional materials.

Besides using familiar materials to Vietnamese such as tussore, silk and brocade, Vietnamese designers also use traditional materials, ushering in a new direction for Vietnam’s fashion industry in this age of integration. By applying modern sewing techniques to process these materials, they create new added value in applied fashion.

With more than 10 years of experience in the fashion industry, designer Quang Huy has recently introduced to fashion lovers a new collection named "Cau chuyen Tay Bac" (Story of the Northeast) with which he applied the trendy chemise onto the traditional Ao dai and featured a structural transition between these two types of apparels. Using a combination of lace and brocade as the main materials, he created intriguing but original designs.

It is not only famous designers pay attention to the use of traditional materials in fashion designing. Young designers are also interested in these fabrics. Among them is Phuong Thanh who has recently introduced her new collection inspired by the memory of romantic Da Lat using silk from Ha Bao, Nhat Minh and Bao Loc. Another example is Nhi Hoang who uses silk from Nha Xa Village to create her own fashion signature with variations of colours and shapes on this delicately smooth and lissome material.
"Its unique weaving method makes silk an attractive material. It is the reason why I, as a young designer, want to explore this traditional material," said Nhi Hoang.

Natural fabric materials in Vietnam are receiving increasing attention from fashion designers. This, in turn, leads to a new mode of consumption as well as new fashion trends.
The collection by Phuong Thanh expresses the memory of a romantic city via the material of silk.
Inspired by forms of Vietnamese traditional costumes, designer Cao Minh Tien created innovative designs
with trendy materials and styles.
Using silk from Bao Loc, designer Nguyen Thuy combined the softness of silk with the sharp form of
3D embroidery hoping to satisfy Vietnam’s fashion market.

Following a modern but still original Vietnamese style, designer Quang Huy combined lace and traditional
brocade to form a stunning and sexy appearance in his designs.
Designer Nhi Hoang applied her youthful style to lissome and smooth traditional silk from Nha Xa Village.


Designer Minh Hanh introduces new materials to Vietnam’s fashion industry via her collections using traditional
materials such as ramie from Thien An and An Phuoc and silk from Nhat Minh.
                                                                                                                                    Story: Ngan Ha - Photos: Khanh Long

 

top