Fashion

An Ao Dai Made from Hair

03/11/2010

The traditional female apparel of Vietnam, the Ao dai, is made from a variety of materials, most commonly silk, but Hanoi hair stylist Kim Quy broke that custom when she created her unique “Ao dai from hair”. The artful innovation took three years to complete.

Besides the One-Pillar Pagoda in Hanoi.

Charming in the Ao dai made from hair.

A model wearing the hair-made Ao dai and being photographed with Hanoi children.

Making the turban from hair.

Gloves, shoes and the turban made with hair and worn with the Ao dai.

Stylish Kim Quy working on the Ao dai made from hair.

It takes stylish Kim Quy and her colleagues three years to complete an Ao dai from hair.

Kim Quy has been a stylist for 30 years and believes that by using the long hair she had amassed over that period to make a unique Ao dai she would contribute to celebrating Hanoi’s 1,000^th birthday.

By dying then braiding together hair 10 to 12 cm long, Kim Quy fashioned a 1:18,000 scale map of Vietnam on the rear flap of the Ao dai and a soaring dragon from the Ly Dynasty era (1009 – 1225) on the front. “I want to preserve the distinctive images of Vietnam for generations to come and the hair will not decay over time,” Kim Quy said.

Kim Quy has also made a turban from hair with image of the Tortoise Tower, a symbol of Hanoi, which will be worn with her hair-made Ao dai.

Story: Tran Tri Cong

Photos: Tat Son – Thai Phien – File

Tran Tri Cong - Tat Son, Thai Phien & File

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