Vietnamese fashion designer to appear on Italy TV

A design of Minh Hanh will be introduce on Italy TV.   Italian national television Rai has invited designer Minh Hanh to show her collection of ao dai’s, Vietnam’s traditional dress, on a special show to be broadcast on Christmas Eve.

Hanh, one of Vietnam’s leading fashion designers, will present her Dragon and Butterfly collection on Alle Felde Del Kilimangiaro, which was shot on Monday. The collection is a mix of classical European and ancient Asian styles and will be worn by 10 Italian models. She will also give an interview on current Vietnamese fashion trends. In June 2006 the collection made a deep impression on visitors at the Spring Festival in Rome. Source: Nhan Dan, VOV

Three homegrown designers to inspire Charming Vietnam

A top Vietnamese designer and two young colleagues will dress up a bevy of beauties for Thanh Nien’s annual fashion and music bash scheduled for Dec. 30-31.

Kieu Viet Lien, the only Vietnamese to obtain certificates from Richard Ribinson’s Fashion School in Canada and Haute Couture-ESMOD in France, was nevertheless, nervous before the big event. “Charming Vietnam is such a big name that all designers are anxious for our dresses to be distinctive.” Her collection at the 16th Charming Vietnam would be her most carefully done and feature gemstones and crystals. Her younger counterparts, Thuan Viet and Angel Phan, real name Phan Thi Phung, both around 25, were also nervous. Thuan Viet, whose Ao dai (Vietnamese traditional costume) collection will feature for the second time at Charming Vietnam, said: “This is such a great opportunity and challenge that I am trying my best to make my dresses impressive.” Viet, who worked under his senior Sy Hoang last year, was also, however, happy to come out of the shadow and put on his own display, titled Night sea paradise. Phan, a newcomer to Charming Vietnam, said she had visited mountain town Sapa and some provinces in the north to pick up unusual materials for her collection, Wave. A student beauty and model, Phan has become one of Vietnam’s most talented designers. The three will use over 30 top models, including 2005 Miss Universe, Russia’s Natalie Glebova; Miss Thailand 2006, Charm Warin Osathmond; the current Miss Vietnam, Mai Phuong Thuy; and the two runners-up, Luu Bao Anh and Nguyen Thi Ngoc Lan. As usual, the event will also feature popular local and overseas singers and performers. Overseas Vietnamese composer and singer Duc Huy, and Vietnamese beauty queen and international magician Ngo My Uyen will host the show themed ‘Moon’. Charming Vietnam (Duyen dang Viet Nam) was launched by Thanh Nien in 1990 to raise funds for the Nguyen Thai Binh Scholarship Fund for economically disadvantaged students. Now the most watched show in the country, it has so far underwritten around 5,000 scholarships worth more than VND7 billion (US$436,000). Last year it was held abroad for the first time – in Australia – to rave reviews. This year it is scheduled to be held at the five-star Hon Ngoc Viet (Vinpearl) resort.  Reported by Da Ly – Translated by Luu Thi Hong

Vietnamese traditional dress showcased in Thailand

Models in Vietnamese traditional long dress poses for a photo. A performance of Vietnamese traditional long dress (ao dai) was organised on December 3 in Ayutthaya, the former capital city of Thailand, attracting a lot of Thai and regional audiences. This is under the framework of the first ASEAN Arts and Crafts Festival (AACF) which was held from November 29 to December 3. During around one hour, six collections of Vietnamese traditional long dresses and Vietnamese traditional brassieres through the performance of 14 models of the Kalawin Fashion House of Thailand attracted the audiences. Audiences highly appreciated the collections whose designs and harmony of colours highlighted the value of the tradition and modernity of Vietnam. Designs by Lan Huong performed in Thailand. Designer Lan Huong said she herself chose high quality material such as silk and taffeta from provinces of Ha Tay, Lam Dong and Da Nang for her products. Therefore, her dresses are combined with features of famous silk and embroidery handicraft villages in Vietnam. This aims to honour the beauty of women and the cultural and art values of Vietnam.

I found another one from the bac region:

http://www.asiafinest.com/forum/lofiversion/index.php/t57533.html

I adore Vietnamese ao dai so if you have any pictures of ao dai, please post it up and share with everyone. I know that ao dai in the bac region, trung region, and nam region are different from each other (nam and trung are very similar to each other though). They also varies in colors and patterns.

A little history:
A lasting impression for any visitor to Vietnam is the beauty of the women dressed in their ao dais. Girls dressed in white pick their way through muddy streets going home from school or sail by in a graceful chatter on their bikes. Secretaries in delicate pastels greet you at an office door and older ladies in deep shades of purple, green or blue cut a striking pose eating dinner at a restaurant. The ao dai appears to flatter every figure. Its body-hugging top flows over wide trousers that brush the floor. Splits in the gown extend well above waist height and make it comfortable and easy to move in. Although virtually the whole body is swathed in soft flowing fabric, these splits give the odd glimpse of a bare midriff, making the outfit very sensual. Rapidly becoming the national costume for ladies, its development is actually very short compared to the country’s history.
Pronounced ‘ao yai’ in the south, but ‘ao zai’ in the north, the color is indicative of the wearer’s age and status. Young girls wear pure white, fully lined outfits symbolizing their purity. As they grow older but are still unmarried they move into soft pastel shades. Only married women wear gowns in strong, rich colors, usually over white or black pants. The ao dai has always been more prevalent in the south than the north, but austerity drives after 1975 meant it was rarely anywhere seen for a number of years as it was considered an excess not appropriate for hard work. The nineties have seen a resurgence in the ao dai’s popularity. “It has become standard attire for many office workers and hotel staff as well as now being the preferred dress for more formal occasions,” says Huong, a secretary for a foreign company. “I feel proud of my heritage when I wear it.” For visitors, the pink and blue of the Vietnam Airlines uniform creates a lasting memory as they travel.
Early versions of the ao dai date back to 1744 when Lord Vu Vuong of the Nguyen Dynasty decreed both men and women should wear an ensemble of trousers and a gown that buttoned down the front. It was not until 1930 that the ao dai as we know it really appeared. Vietnamese fashion designer and writer Cat Tuong, or as the French knew him, Monsieur Le Mur, lengthened the top so it reached the floor, fitted the bodice to the curves of the body and moved the buttons from the front to an opening along the shoulder and side seam. Men wore it less, generally only on ceremonial occasions such as at weddings or funerals. But it took another twenty years before the next major design change was incorporated and the modern ao dai emerged. During the 1950s two tailors in Saigon, Tran Kim of Thiet Lap Tailors and Dung of Dung Tailors, started producing the gowns with raglan sleeves. This creates a diagonal seam running from the collar to the underarm and today, this style is still preferred.

Giorgio Armani, Donna Karan, Calvin Klein, and Ralph Lauren

_________________

As the music sets the catwalk in motion, Ralph Lauren models appear with his latest collection. This time it goes beyond his trademark Hamptons/neo-British image. His models are strolling elegantly above the crowd in conical hats and long silk tunics slit from the waist down, worn over wide pants. With such a look, it was clear that designer Ralph Lauren had fallen under the spell of the beautiful Vietnamese ao dai.

That was a few seasons past, and the fashion world moves on to new trends to satisfy fickle consumers. However, in Viet Nam and in Vietnamese communities worldwide, the ao dai enjoys a revival that will unlikely fade with the seasons. Its renewed popularity marks a resurgence of cultural ties. A younger generation of Vietnamese are discovering its charm. Yet few question its origins. Even among cultural historians, only a small number have placed importance on the development of Vietnamese costume. Thus, documentation on the topic is rare and often vague.

Lan Vu ©2002
San Francisco, CA
(this article has also been published by Heritage)

______________

Today, the ao dai is also surviving in the business sector. The official uniform of the government-run Viet Nam Airlines is the ao dai in pink (international flights) or sky blue (domestic flights) with a Mandarin style collar. In addition, banks, hotels, and other businesses encourage their female employees to wear ao dai because it exudes a dignified and attractive image for the company. The current fashion in Saigon is the high, rounded collar ao dai with slim raglan sleeves, and worn with very long, billowy pants cut on the bias. The sewing shops are overbooked with orders for this style of dress.

Outside of Viet Nam, the ao dai still maintains a strong presence. Although, it is solely worn during family events like Tet, marriages, and funerals/post-mortem gatherings, it represents a deep cultural bond which still exists for many overseas Vietnamese, despite the time and distance away from the country. Even for those too young to remember life in Viet Nam, the connection to their roots is embedded in them. Some have recognized and benefited from this connection. For instance, well-known design schools such as New York’s Parsons School of Design and Fashion Institute of Technology boast a growing number of Vietnamese fashion design students. It is not uncommon that these young designers, as well as Vietnamese professionals seasoned in the field, derive inspiration from their background, in which the ao dai plays a major role. Years ago, designer Vinh Pham gained much recognition for his iridescent “Butterfly Imager” ready-to-wear collection, based on the ao dai.

Western designers such as Giorgio Armani, Donna Karan, Calvin Klein, and Ralph Lauren have all successfully derived ideas from Vietnamese costume for past collections. The peasant pants outfit (ao ba ba) and simple ao dai have been transformed into elegant haute couture adaptations. This, in turn, spawned a myriad of knockoffs among mass market manufacturers. The movie industry, with its captivating images of Vietnamese women in traditional dress, involuntarily promoted this look in clothes. Films like “Indochine”, “The Lover”, “Heaven and Earth”, and director Tran Anh Hung’s “The Scent of the Green Papaya” and “Cyclo” showcase the grace of traditional Viet Namese dress against an alluring background.

Among the Vietnamese overseas communities, video series like the popular “Paris by Night” keep the ao dai ever-present in people’s daily view. The series, like many similar variety presentations, often features ao dai fashion shows and famous singers wearing elaborate ao dai’s on stage. Ao dai beauty competitions like those in Viet Nam also take place frequently in America and in Europe. There as well, such events draw an impressive audience. This exhibits that though people do not regularly wear the ao air, it nevertheless rests ardent among their interests.

Some people are of the contrary opinion. They believe that the ao dai is becoming obsolete due to the influence of western culture and dress. They overlook, however, the fact that the ao dai has already survived centuries of repeated foreign subjugation and assimilation. It has weathered many social changes and fickle emperors. Yet in the simple modesty and elegance of its design, there rests a force which seems to defy the ages.

source – viettouch.com

This is Nam Phuong Hoang Hau from the Nguyen’s Dynasty

I think this is a better picture of Nam Phuong Hoang Hau

Traditional costumes for APEC leaders

07:22′ 15/11/2006 (GMT+7)

APEC leaders wear durumagi costume of the Republic of Korea (Photo: APEC Secretariat) VietNamNet Bridge – According to APEC tradition, the host country of the APEC summit often prepares costumes for APEC leaders to take photos in on the last day of the summit.   This tradition began at APEC 1994 with Indonesia’s batik costume. After that, all host countries of APEC select traditional costumes for APEC leaders.  At APEC 2004, leaders wore chamanto costume of Chile. To make a chamanto, a craftsman works for four months. The costume has two sides, light and dark. The light side is worn facing out at night and vice versa. The costume is decorated with various patterns of flowers such as dewberry, oats, grape, pensee and special birds of Chile.   APEC leaders wear chamanto costume of Chile (Photo: APEC Secretariat) Ambassador Milenko, General Director of APEC 2004, said that Chile chose the chamanto as the costume for APEC leaders because it reflected part of the traditional culture of Chile.  At APEC 2005, the Republic of Korea established a national committee to choose a costume for APEC leaders. The durumagi costume was selected from nearly 26 designs submitted by 14 provinces and cities in the country.  Durumagi include two layers, with five colours, symbolising the five basic elements in Oriental philosophy: metal, wood, water, soil, and fire. The costumes were decorated with pine, bamboo and clouds, which reflect the loyalty and truthfulness of the man of honour and the aspiration for freedom and romance.  Vietnamese ao dai for APEC leaders (Photo: government website) For APEC Vietnam 2006, the National Committee for APEC 2006 prepared for this event for a long time. Finally, ao dai designed by Minh Hanh were chosen. Those ao dai have lotus patterns and different styles to be suitable for both male and female leaders.   Those outfits will be worn by APEC leaders for taking photographs on November 19 at the National Meeting Centre.  (Source: Tuoi Tre)

Hanoi Ao Dai Week Welcoming APEC 2006

Young women in Ao dai on the Hanoi’s streets welcome the APEC 2006. The Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union of Hoan Kiem District in Hanoi has just launched the Ao dai (Vietnamese traditional costume) week to welcome the APEC 2006 from November 11 to 19, aiming to introduce the elegant beauty of Hanoi’s young women and the city itself to the international visitors. Accordingly, young women of the youth union of Hoan Kiem District will wear Ao dai going to schools and offices during the APEC 2006 week. Hoan Kiem is a central district with many famous historical sites and tourism destinations including Hanoi’s ancient streets, Hoan Kiem lake, Ngoc Son Temple, deluxe hotels such as Melia, Sofitel Metropole and offices of the State, international organizations, diplomatic delegations. The Ao dai week is a significant event honoring the beauty of the Vietnamese traditional costume and contributing to make up the Hanoi’s central area to welcome the honored guests of the APEC summit. On this occasion, the Hoan Kiem District Youth Union has launched the campaign “The youth acting for the green, clean and beautiful city” with practical activities including keeping the urban order, environmental sanitation and traffic safety, removing illegal posters, organizing cultural performances, sport competitions to publicize the APEC summit 2006. (Liberated Saigon newspaper)

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Vietnam’s “ao dai” dress still popular, but not among men By Kay Johnson

dpa German Press Agency
Published: Wednesday November 15, 2006

Hanoi- When Asia-Pacific leaders gather this weekend for their traditional photo in local costumes, women leaders like Philippines President Gloria Arroyo will find themselves in style in silk “ao dai” dresses still popular among Vietnamese women. A long, fitted silk dress with side slits, worn over loose trousers, the ao dai (pronounced “ow zai”) is renowned for its elegance and flattering silhouette on women – good news for Arroyo as well as New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark and Chilean President Michelle Bachelet

As for male leaders at the summit, including US President George W Bush – they’ll be wearing dresses too. Sort of.

The male version of the ao dai, a similar long silk robe over trousers, hasn’t been worn on Vietnamese’s streets for decades, but the world leaders will don the traditional costume, including a turban-like hat, for a photo opportunity this weekend.

It’s become an annual tradition to don colorful indigenous shirts for the annual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) leaders summit. The tradition started in 1994 in Jakarta when then-President Suharto of Indonesia insisted his guests wear batik shirts.

Since then, the APEC leaders have worn silk shirts threaded with silver in Thailand, ponchos in Chile and kimono-like robes in South Korea.

This year, Vietnamese organizers spent six months designing a special lotus-patterned silk to make the traditional ao dai, which dates back nearly 1,000 years.

“This is exactly the dress that Vietnamese kings wore,” said Bui Xuan Khu, Vietnamese vice minister for industry, who was in charge of selecting the fabric and patterns.

Kings may have once worn ao dai, but the national costume has not had the staying power among Vietnamese men as in women, who commonly wear ao dai at schools and at formal events.

“Ao dai is still very popular among Vietnamese women,” says Nguyen Anh Dung, a tailor who makes the dress for Vietnamese and Western clients. “It can help show off their figure, their beauty and charm.”

As for the male version, “it lost its popularity,” Dung says. “Our men nowadays like to wear suits, which are smart and more comfortable than ao dai.”

Dao Van Gia, 72, who was at Dung’s shop in Hanoi with his wife to have an ao dai made for her, said the male ao dai is reserved only for cultural festivals – even in traditional weddings where the bride wears the red ao dai, men now wear suits and ties.

“I have never worn ao dai,” said Gia, who said there is good reason. “It is very troublesome and tight, uncomfortable for movement. Few men will wear that on the street.”

Vice minister Khu agreed the discomfort of the ao dai made it impractical – though not for women, he said.

“Women are more feminine and move gently, and they also do less hard jobs than men do,” he said.

© 2006 dpa German Press Agency

APEC leaders set for silky show

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The Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation (APEC) forum is to have its very own silk road a fashion runway with leaders dressed up in national costume, to show the solidarity of the Pacific Rim. After Sunday’s Hanoi meeting, the 21 APEC leaders a diverse selection spanning President Hu Jintao and the US’s George W. Bush, through to Papua New Guinea’s Prime Minister Michael Somare and Peru’s President Alan Garcia will don Viet Nam’s ao dai silk tunic for the closing ceremony. The leaders customarily make an appearance in local attire at the annual meeting. Last year, they wore the silky wide-sleeved “dumagi” jacket in South Korea’s Pusan. At previous forums they have worn short-sleeved Thai silk shirts, Chinese silk jackets, Indonesian silk batik and Malaysian silk. At the first APEC meeting in 1993, hosted by Bill Clinton in Seattle, the delegates wore bombardier jackets for the class photo outside in the wintry air. Since then, they have worn Philippine barong shirts, kiwi sailing suits and Mexican ponchos. APEC organizers said that in addition to the silk brocade ao dai, the leaders could also put on Vietnamese style turbans, adding to a haberdashery trend that saw them sporting Chilean-style sombreros in 2004. The ao dai was worn in feudal Viet Nam, with yellow reserved for the King, purple and red for high-ranking palace officials and blue for petty court officials. The male version of the ao dai is a long tunic with slits on either side, white trousers and a turban with wooden clogs or shoes. The woman’s version is almost the same, except it’s a tighter fit. Organizers said the leaders can choose their own colour of ao dai from yellow, red, blue and green. There are also souvenirs for guests, including miniature boats made from wood and silver, and Vietnamese-English photo albums. Source: China Daily

Ao Dai uncomfortable?

The leaders presented the communique after the official APEC photo, where they wore traditional Vietnamese ao dai – but designed to accommodate the burgeoning waist lines of some prime ministers and presidents.

Rather than the usual snug tunic, the ao dai ended up being more of a voluminous kaftan on most leaders.

Mr Howard – who chose his outfit in his usual preferred colour, blue – decided to take the garment off before fronting the Australian media later.

http://www.theage.com.au/news/World/APEC-leaders-wade-into-trade-and-N-Korea/2006/11/19/1163871255021.html

APEC leaders to shine as they dress up in Vietnamese ao dai

(18-11-2006)

The look: Twenty-one Vietnamese girls have been trained to help the APEC economic leaders dress in their ao dai. — VNS Photo

HA NOI — Wearing the Vietnamese traditional dress ao dai, leaders from 21 APEC member economies will line up for a group photo tomorrow at the National Convention Centre in Ha Noi.

Different from the body-hugging modern ao dai which are mostly worn by Vietnamese women, the dress for APEC leaders has been tailored to a more loose-fitting shape according to the original ao dai style of the olden days.

The Viet Nam Fashion and Design Institute (FADIN), part of the Ministry of Industry, was assigned to produce the outfit.

Since receiving the order from the Government eight months ago, designer Minh Hanh, FADIN’s vice director, has been busy creating the high-quality silk for the garments, drawing up 32 different patterns to be woven into the silk.

“Finally, the lotus design was chosen, as the lotus symbolises the beauty and culture of the Vietnamese people,” Hanh said.

According to Hanh, the lotus design was woven as a 3D image to create a very special damask silk.

The Toan Thinh Silk Company was chosen to produce the special fabric and it took them five months to fulfil the job.

“The silk selected for the leaders’ ao dai is stiffer than the delicate silk commonly used for these garments, as they will wear the ao dai over their Western-style suits,” said Hanh.

The outfits come in blue, red, yellow, green and pink.

The top choice among the 18 men, among them the leaders of the US, Russia, Japan and Australia, is a business-like blue, while guests from South Korea, Singapore and Hong Kong are among the dignitaries going with red.

Thailand and Viet Nam will shine in golden yellow, Brunei and Papua New Guinea chose the deep green and two of APEC’s three female leaders, the Philippines’ President Gloria Arroyo, Chile’s President Michelle Bachelet, and New Zealand’s Prime Minister Helen Clark, will make a bold statement in lotus pink.

The ao dai are traditionally worn with a khan dong, or turbans, which have become the formal dress for Vietnamese ordinary people and for Confucian scholars since the late 19th century. — VNS

APEC leaders shine in Vietnamese traditional attire

19:56′ 19/11/2006 (GMT+7)

Chinese President Hu Jintao was in blue, host Vietnamese President Nguyen Minh Triet in yellow, Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong in red and the Philippines’ Gloria Macapagal Arroyo in pink. All have shined when dressing up Vietnamese traditional tunics (ao dai) for a group photo at the closing ceremony of the two-day 14th APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting Sunday. At the tree-covered Van Tue Island in the new ship-shaped National Convention Center’s campus, most of leaders from the 21 member economies of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) in elegant silk “ao dai” with golden lotus flower patterns lined up for the photo, which is considered symbol of the solidarity in the Asia-Pacific region. The leaders slipped the “ao dai”, designed in five bright colors and decorated with lotus flowers — a Vietnamese traditional symbol of nobleness and purity over their businesses suits, giving a look of prestige and dignity. The APEC “ao dai” come in blue, red, yellow and green for male leaders, while women ones had a choice of pink. Leaders of South Korea and Singapore looked relaxed in red, others from China, the United States, Russia and Japan went blue, and those from Vietnam and Thailand in yellow, and Brunei and Papua New Guinea in green. Meanwhile, three female leaders from the Philippines, News Zealand and Chile got charmer in pink dress and velvet turbans. It is a tradition for leaders to wear costumes bearing the symbol of host members of APEC for the closing group photo at annual meetings. Last year, they wore silk overcoat, “durumagi”, in South Korea. Previously, they donned short-sleeved silk shirts in Thailand, silk jackets in China, and batik shirts in Indonesia. To dress leaders at the meeting this year, host Vietnam chose the “ao dai” motif designed by Minh Hanh, one of the country’s top designers and vice director of the Vietnam Fashion Design Institute (FADIN). “Ao dai”, fitted long robe with two-side slits up to the waist being worn over silk white trousers, is considered a symbol of Vietnamese intangible culture, helping to flatter local women’s beauty, figure and charm. The garments are now popular for local women, mostly in special occasions such as weddings, ceremonies and festivals. Hanh and her workers spent over eight months on the costume, from creating high-quality silk for the garments to drawing up 32 different patterns to woven into the cloth. “Over the past eight months, we have had worked all day and night for the costumes, and they have experienced close scrutiny. When the design was officially chosen, government officials, led by former Deputy Prime Minister Vu Khoan, closely scrutinized them twice. And, around a week ago, State President Nguyen Minh Triet made the final scrutiny,” she said. “Finally, the lotus design was chosen, as lotus flowers symbolize the beauty and culture of Vietnamese people,” she said, adding that the lotus flower motifs were lively woven in the three-dimension technique to create a special damask silk. The local Toan Thinh Silk Company had to spend more than five months producing the delicate cloth, she said, adding that the silk selected for the leader’s costumes has to be stiffer than common ones, as they are worn over their suits. To ensure the honored guests to satisfy with “ao dai”, the FADIN had to send them the drawings of “ao dai” and its requests for their fashion parameters, and present five colors of the costume for their choice. “I believe that the costumes will satisfy the leaders. Some elder people told me that, in the evening of Nov. 19, billions of people in the world will see the traditional costume wearing etiquette of APEC leaders on TV, and they will partly understand Vietnam’s soul. So, I’m very nervous,” Hanh was recently quoted assaying by local newspaper Youth. Now, Hanh’s worries must have vanished without trace, since the leaders’ appearance in her elaborate “ao dai” design has not only showed off Vietnam’s traditional culture, but also promoted the country’s image to the Asia-Pacific region and the world at large. VietNamNet/Xinhuanews

Asian-Pacific leaders sweat it out in silk tunics, in final chore of annual summit

The Associated Press

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Chinese President Hu Jintao and U.S. President George W. Bush were beaming in baby blue; the women leaders posed in peony pink.

When the debates on the future of the world trading system and other momentous issues are finished, once all the diplomacy is over, Pacific Rim leaders face one final, inescapable task during their annual summit — the donning of the host country’s costume.

Leaders at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Hanoi on Sunday were invited to slip traditional Vietnamese “ao dai” silk tunics over their Western-style suits for their annual group photo — by far the most colorful ritual on their agenda.

What an ice breaker.

The normally dour and somber-faced Hu was positively beaming as he stood for the group photos. Russian President Vladimir Putin joked cordially with Bush. The wide pink turbans worn by the three women leaders gave diminutive Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo a few extra inches of height.

The custom-tailored ankle-length ao dai, pronounced “ow zai,” usually has a snug fit that is said to “reveal everything but show nothing.”

But the costumes worn by the leaders appeared designed not to reveal much of anything at all. Fashioned by famous Vietnamese designer Minh Hanh, they afforded the leaders — most of whom have ample girths — a fairly comfortable fit.

Sky blue was the most popular color among the men, with a smattering of reds, greens and yellows for a diplomatic rainbow effect.

The traditional ao dai includes a long tunic with slits up the sides revealing just an inch or so of flesh at the waist above long white slacks. The tunics the leaders wore Sunday had less revealing slits, and most wore dark slacks.

The tradition of posing in clothing symbolic of the host country began when the leaders wore leather bomber jackets at their first APEC summit in Seattle in 1993.

The centuries-old ao dai was banned briefly after Vietnam’s communist revolution but is now worn by school girls — preserving a touch of traditional elegance in a fast-modernizing society. It is rarely worn except as uniforms or for special occasions.

Over the years, the leaders have posed in Indonesian batik, Filipino barong made of pineapple fiber, and gold-embroidered Chinese silk tunics.

At times, they’ve appeared visibly ill-at-ease in the colorful and unfamiliar costumes, though in Hanoi most seemed amused by the spectacle of 21 leaders clad in gold-embossed silk.

Once they headed outdoors for the group photos in a sunny lakeside flower garden, things got a bit less comfortable, said Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

“It was a bit warm,” he said.

APEC move on trade deadlock

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Leaders of the APEC countries pose for photographs wearing traditional Vietnamese silk gowns. Prime Minister John Howard is on the far right.
Photo: Andrew Taylor

In the annual APEC group photograph, leaders wore traditional Vietnamese silk tunics, known as ao dai. Mr Howard opted for Tory blue, as did Mr Bush. Male leaders chose not to wear the optional turban.

World leaders wear silk tunics for photo

Staff and agencies
20 November, 2006

11 minutes ago

HANOI, Vietnam – The men wore blue and the women wore pink — but it wasn‘t a throwback to childhood stereotypes.

The leaders at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit selected the colors themselves. Sky blue was most popular among the men — including President Bush — with a smattering of reds, greens and yellows for a diplomatic rainbow effect. All the women leaders chose pink.

The centuries-old ao dai was banned briefly after Vietnam‘s communist revolution but is now worn by schoolgirls — usually white, symbolizing purity. As girls grow older, they move into pastel shades. Married women wear strong, rich colors.

The tradition of posing in clothing symbolic of the host country began when the leaders wore leather bomber jackets at their first APEC summit in Seattle in 1993. Over the years, the leaders have posed in Indonesian batik, Filipino barong and Chilean ponchos.

Bush, Hu pledge to strengthen relations

 

U.S. offers to hold dialogue with China

 

 

 

 

— Photo: AP

THE BIG THREE: Wearing traditional `ao dai’ the Presidents of the U.S., Russia and China — George W. Bush (right), Vladimir Putin (centre) and Hu Jintao (left) — get ready for a group photo with leaders of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Hanoi, Vietnam on Sunday.

World Leaders Don Tunics in Hanoi, But Fail To Show Unity on N. Korea

By SEBASTIEN BERGER
The Daily Telegraph
November 20, 2006

 

Dmitri Astakhov / AFP / Getty

Presidents Bush, Hu, and Putin appear in public in traditional Vietnamese ao dai yesterday in Hanoi at the end of the Asian-Pacific leaders summit. A story is on page 5. America and Russia earlier signed a bilateral agreement that paves the way for Moscow to join the World Trade Organization after 12 years of tough negotiations.

 

 

 

Dmitri Astakhov / AFP / Getty

Presidents Bush, Hu, and Putin appear in public in traditional Vietnamese ao dai yesterday in Hanoi at the end of the Asian-Pacific leaders summit. A story is on page 5. America and Russia earlier signed a bilateral agreement that paves the way for Moscow to join the World Trade Organization after 12 years of tough negotiations.

HANOI, Vietnam — The leaders of most of the world’s major powers were united in discomfort yesterday as they posed in traditional silk tunics following a summit in Vietnam — but failed to show the same common purpose over North Korea.

A tight-lipped President Bush looked especially unimpressed with his pastel blue ao dai, a flowing garment that is nowadays worn almost exclusively by women.

Next to him stood a similarly grim-looking President Putin of Russia, although President Hu of China appeared more comfortable.

On a slender female form the ao dai, a clinging piece of clothing slit to above the hip, is simultaneously elegant and alluring, but when sported by middle-aged Caucasian men it is substantially less flattering.

The male version, cut slightly differently, has been largely abandoned by Vietnamese men, even on formal occasions. Mr. Bush took the first chance he had to remove his once the official photo call was finished, a ritual at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit.

The tradition began in Seattle in 1993, when President Clinton offered his guests bomber jackets, and they have gone on to don Indonesian batik, Philippine barong made of pineapple fibers, and Mexican ponchos, among others.

This year the leaders had a choice of five colors of ao dai, all of them embroidered with golden lotus flowers. In feudal times yellow was reserved for the king, but it was chosen only by the Thai prime minister and the Vietnamese president, while the sultan of Brunei, the sole monarch present, picked green.
The majority wore blue — traditionally the uniform of petty officials — while all three women leaders dressed in pink.

And despite their efforts to proclaim a united front over North Korea’s nuclear ambitions, the positions they took, while sheathed in diplomatic nuances, were almost as varied as the hues of their silks.

A joint declaration issued after the APEC meeting did not directly refer to the world’s most serious geopolitical crisis, and a proposed separate document on the issue failed to materialize.

Instead a short verbal statement was read out at a press conference.

The six-party talks, the rest of the world’s main negotiating forum with North Korea, are due to resume next month, after the U.N. Security Council imposed sanctions following North Korea’s nuclear weapons test on October 9.

And while America and Japan have said repeatedly that a nuclear North Korea is “unacceptable,” the verbal statement only expressed “strong concern.”

It was later released by officials of South Korea, the country most threatened by the North, which is declining to join fully in the American-led Proliferation Security Initiative by inspecting North Korean ships at sea.

Bush hates wearing Ao Dai

Howdy to Ao Dai

The colourful, elongated tunics of Vietnam’s traditional dress, the Ao Dai, are worn with much grace by Vietnamese women and men – and extreme unease by the US president George Bush. Donning the costume over his suit for the obligatory “family photograph” alongside 20 other leaders of Asian and Pacific nations, Mr Bush grimaced repeatedly and shifted from foot to foot, a portrait of embarrassment in turquoise blue brocade with yellow trim. It was obvious he couldn’t wait to get it off and sure enough, moments after the official photographs were taken, he strode away, ripped it off and folded it up, according to reports. His fellow leaders showed more restraint and waited until they were out of sight.

Asian leaders fail to back Bush’s strategy to curb North Korea’s nuclear ambitions

· President loses battle for united anti-nuclear stance
· Trip to Indonesia curtailed over security concerns

Suzanne Goldenberg in Hanoi
Monday November 20, 2006
The Guardian

Bush in ao dai

Bush spreads gospel of religious freedom

Dressed in traditional “ao dai,” U.S. President George W. Bush, center, Vietnamese President Nguyen Minh Triet, left, and Chinese President Hu Jintao share a light moment prior to the joint declaration of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit is delivered in Hanoi Sunday, Nov. 19, 2006. (AP Photo/Hoang Dinh Nam, Pool)

 

 

 

Leaders at the APEC summit were invited to slip traditional Vietnamese “ao dai” silk tunics over their Western-style suits for the annual group photo — by far the most colorful ritual on their agenda.

The normally dour Hu was positively beaming. Putin joked cordially with Bush. The wide pink turbans worn by the three women leaders gave diminutive Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo a few extra inches of height.

The custom-tailored, ankle-length ao dai, pronounced “ow zai,” usually has a snug fit that is said to “reveal everything but show nothing.”

But those the leaders wore appeared designed not to reveal too much. Fashioned by famous Vietnamese designer Minh Hanh, they afforded the leaders — most of whom have ample girths — a fairly comfortable fit.

Sky blue was the most popular color among men, with a smattering of reds, greens and yellows for a diplomatic rainbow effect.

The traditional ao dai includes a long tunic with slits up the sides.

The custom of posing in clothing symbolic of the host country began when the leaders wore leather bomber jackets at the first APEC summit in Seattle in 1993.