Hue charity funds education, training for impoverished girls

(20-06-2009)

Back to school: Two young women wear ao dai. The Hue-based charity, the Ao Dai Association, besides helping poor girls study and get vocational training, is also trying to encourage them to wear the traditional Vietnamese ao dai. — VNS File Photo

HUE CITY — Many poor bright girls in Thua Thien–Hue Province will soon receive financial support for continuing their education while others will get vocational training from a new charity that has been established by women in Hue.

The Ao Dai (traditional long dress) Association, established last week, is now working to raise funds.

“Our association has been formed with the aim of respecting and preserving traditional Vietnamese cultures and lifestyles in general, and Hue’s culture in particular,” the country’s former deputy president, Nguyen Thi Binh, also the association’s honorary chairwoman, said.

Along with scholarships of VND1 million, it has also gifted an ao dai to 20 high school students living in remote districts like Huong Long and Thuy Bieu.

“I dreamed of wearing a new ao dai to school,” Ho Thi Ngoc Quy, who studies at the Hai Ba Trung School in Thuy Bieu Commune, said.

“Thanks to the Ao Dai Association, my dream has comes true. I will try my best to complete my studies,” added the 15-year-old girl, who, together with her younger siblings, earn money after school to support their parents.

A member of the association’s executive board, fashion designer Nguyen Minh Hanh of HCM City, said providing a “better life to poor girls is also our duty.”

The association will provide free training courses in sewing to poor girls so that they can find stable jobs.

The association and its partners, the Thua Thien-Hue Province Women’s Union and the HCM City Women’s Union, have organised dozens of cultural and charity activities to raise money.

It has more than 200 members, many of them local officials and well-known artists. — VNS

George Bush in Ao dai and other traditional garments

China: Mr. Bush and former President Jiang Zemin in Shangai in 2001

Saudi Arabia: Mr. Bush arrives for a dinner with King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz al-Saud at his personal retreat in January, 2008, wearing a traditional Saudi robe.

Vietnam: Mr. Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin prepare for an official group photo at an APEC session , wearing a Vietnamese ‘ao dai’ silk tunic, in November 2006.

South Korea: Mr. Bush, Peruvian President Alejandro Toledo and Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi head for a photo session after a meeting in Pusan, South Korea, in 2005.

Chile: Mr. Bush and Mr. Putin again, this time in Chilean ponchos at La Moneda Palace in Santiago November 21, 2004.

Photos: LUIS ACOSTA/AFP/Getty Images;     AFP PHOTO/Stephen JAFFE;  AFP PHOTO/MANDEL NGAN,  AFP PHOTO/Jim WATSON; AFP PHOTO/JAPAN POOL/KENJI KONOHA; REUTERS/Carlos Barria

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Miss Cherry Blossom 2008 set for finale

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A contestant in a preliminary round of this year’s Miss Cherry Blossom pageant The finale of the second Miss Cherry Blossom beauty contest will be held Saturday in Ho Chi Minh City’s Hoa Binh Theater.

The 29 contestants will appear in ao dai (Vietnamese traditional long tunic), sportswear and evening gowns. The beauties will take part in a multiple choice question and answer session to vie for the Miss Intelligence title. The titles of Miss Ao Dai, Miss Sportswear and Miss Compassion will also be awarded. The overall winner will receive a VND50 million (US$3,000) award and two runners-up will be presented VND25 million ($1,500) each. Saturday’s event, to be broadcast live on BTV2, DRT and HanoiTV, will feature popular singers including Tra My, Cam Ly, as well as Miss Universe Vietnam Thuy Lam. The contestants will visit two centers for disadvantaged children in HCMC’s neighboring provinces of Binh Duong and Dong Nai Thursday. The activity will help organizers judge the Miss Compassion award and choose children to perform in the finale. The competition was organized by Japanese-owned Hisamitsu Vietnam Pharmaceutical Company, Binh Duong Province Television (BTV) and local Phan Gia Company. The winner and two runners-up will become Hisamitsu’s exclusive representatives in advertisements and will also take part in the company’s social and charity activities. Previous Miss Cherry Blossom winners have represented Hisamitsu in giving scholarships to underprivileged students at the HCMC University of Medicine and Pharmacy and donating wheelchairs to the handicapped. Reported by Trong Kha

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Gallery unveils artistic spirit of ao dai

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14:58′ 20/02/2008 (GMT+7)

VietNamNet Bridge – More than 50 new designs of the Vietnamese traditional dress, the ao dai, by leading fashion designer Si Hoang are on display at the Y Ngoc – Si Hoang Gallery in HCM City. Girl you’ll be a woman soon: New wedding ao dai designs by Si Hoang are displayed at the gallery. The gallery, a joint effort between the Y Ngoc Design Company and Si Hoang Company, opened on Sunday at the Reunification palace. With colourful materials such as silk, velvet and precious stones, veteran designer Si Hoang has created an eye-catching ao dai for weddings, honouring the traditional symbol of Vietnamese fashion and beauty of youth. At the gallery, pottery, dolls and several oil paintings depicting teenage girls by artist Do Duy Tuan are also being showcased. Tuan, who has more than 20 years of experience as a painter, has had several exhibitions in the US, Singapore, Hong Kong and the UK, and his works are owned by collectors around the world. The gallery is expected to become a destination for tourists and art lovers who are interested in painting, fashion and sculpture. It will also become a place for art and fashion design students to research and carry out their practices, according to Hoang. “The dresses are a combination of painting, fine arts, graphic design and the art of ao dai, with a desire to make life and people more beautiful,” said Ngoc Thi Yen, director of Y Ngoc Design Company. She said the gallery would be a place to showcase the newest and best ao dai designs of a young generation. “We have had to work very hard and have had no Tet (Lunar New Year festival) preparing for the opening of the gallery,” Si Hoang said. “In June we will host a fashion design contest to design ao dai for children to celebrate Children’s Day (June 1). The event is to promote images of beauty among our young generation.” (Source: Viet Nam News)

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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.

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.

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.

Vietnamese-American girl crowned Miss Vietnam Global

Miss Viet Nam competes for Miss World

(08-09-2006)

Maiden voyage: Mai Phuong Thuy brings Vietnamese smiles to Poland. — VNS Photo

Newly crowned Miss Viet Nam 2006 Mai Phuong Thuy joined more than 100 contestants in the Miss World Garden where each woman planted a tree yesterday in Gdynia, Poland.

Thuy planted a cactus that she took from Viet Nam to Poland for the event. Explaining why she chose the cactus, Thuy said the plant is a strong-willed survivor, just like Vietnamese people.

Thuy arrived in Warsaw on Tuesday and was welcomed by the pageant’s organisers. She is sharing a room with Miss Venezuela, also from the 15-contestant Asia Pacific group.

“I will try to convey the message to people around the world that Viet Nam is a country of smiles and friendly people,” Thuy said before leaving for Poland.

Viet Hung, Thuy’s fashion designer, prepared about 50 dresses for her including a velvet ao dai with an impressive tale made from 500 peacock feathers. The dress was made by 40 craftsmen who worked for four days to finish it in time.

She also brought a 7kg sand painting of Ha Long Bay that will be auctioned off for charity.

At the Miss Talent event that will be held next Tuesday in Wroclaw, Miss Viet Nam will perform a northern folk dance wearing ao tu than (the long four-lapped dress of young women in the northern delta).

Interactive Miss World

The 56th Miss World pageant will take place in Warsaw on September 30 at Sala Kongresowa, the main 2,897-seat auditorium at the Palace of Culture and Science. This is the first time the pageant is being held in a European city other than London.

A total of 104 nations are attending the pageant where Iceland’s Unnur Birna Vilhjalmsdottir, Miss World 2005, will crown her successor. All contestants will be divided into six regional groups: Africa, Americas, Asia Pacific, Caribbean, Northern Europe and Southern Europe.

The four fast track events for Miss World 2006 are Miss Beach, Miss Talent, Miss Sport and Miss Beauty with a Purpose. Besides the four event winners, 12 regional semifinalists will be selected out of each group based on the results of the Miss World Global Vote.

From the top six finalists (or Regional Miss World) a combination of star judges and a worldwide vote will decide who is crowned the 56th Miss World.

Miss Beach will be selected today among 20 finalists at the Baltic Sea resort of Gdynia. — VNS

Miss Viet Nam competes for Miss World

(08-09-2006)

Maiden voyage: Mai Phuong Thuy brings Vietnamese smiles to Poland. — VNS Photo

Newly crowned Miss Viet Nam 2006 Mai Phuong Thuy joined more than 100 contestants in the Miss World Garden where each woman planted a tree yesterday in Gdynia, Poland.

Thuy planted a cactus that she took from Viet Nam to Poland for the event. Explaining why she chose the cactus, Thuy said the plant is a strong-willed survivor, just like Vietnamese people.

Thuy arrived in Warsaw on Tuesday and was welcomed by the pageant’s organisers. She is sharing a room with Miss Venezuela, also from the 15-contestant Asia Pacific group.

“I will try to convey the message to people around the world that Viet Nam is a country of smiles and friendly people,” Thuy said before leaving for Poland.

Viet Hung, Thuy’s fashion designer, prepared about 50 dresses for her including a velvet ao dai with an impressive tale made from 500 peacock feathers. The dress was made by 40 craftsmen who worked for four days to finish it in time.

She also brought a 7kg sand painting of Ha Long Bay that will be auctioned off for charity.

At the Miss Talent event that will be held next Tuesday in Wroclaw, Miss Viet Nam will perform a northern folk dance wearing ao tu than (the long four-lapped dress of young women in the northern delta).

Interactive Miss World

The 56th Miss World pageant will take place in Warsaw on September 30 at Sala Kongresowa, the main 2,897-seat auditorium at the Palace of Culture and Science. This is the first time the pageant is being held in a European city other than London.

A total of 104 nations are attending the pageant where Iceland’s Unnur Birna Vilhjalmsdottir, Miss World 2005, will crown her successor. All contestants will be divided into six regional groups: Africa, Americas, Asia Pacific, Caribbean, Northern Europe and Southern Europe.

The four fast track events for Miss World 2006 are Miss Beach, Miss Talent, Miss Sport and Miss Beauty with a Purpose. Besides the four event winners, 12 regional semifinalists will be selected out of each group based on the results of the Miss World Global Vote.

From the top six finalists (or Regional Miss World) a combination of star judges and a worldwide vote will decide who is crowned the 56th Miss World.

Miss Beach will be selected today among 20 finalists at the Baltic Sea resort of Gdynia. — VNS

VN’s designer to provide ao dai for Miss Vietnam USA

VN’s designer to provide ao dai for Miss Vietnam USA

14:28′ 29/08/2006 (GMT+7)

A design by Lien Huong. VietNamNet Bridge – A Vietnamese designer, Lien Huong, has been selected to provide ao dai for the Miss Vietnam USA 2006 pageant.   Lien Huong departed for the US last weekend to meet with pageant organisers. She will provide ao dai for the 60 candidates who enter the final round of the beauty competition.   Huong has worked for four months to prepare 60 different ao dai. She has used mostly Vietnamese silk as material for the collection.   Lien Huong is well known in Vietnam for her ao dai collections. She has attended many fashion shows in Vietnam.   Regarding the pageant, according to information posted on the website www.missvietnamusa.com this is the fourth annual competition. In 2005, Jennifer Pham, Miss Asia in the US 2006, won second runner-up at the pageant.   A new thing for this year’s pageant is that eligibility is not limited to Vietnamese girls in the US. Vietnamese girls from all over the world except Vietnam can register to compete at the pageant. The final night will be held in Las Vegas on September 2.   (Source: Tuoi Tre)

Kuala Lumpur Asia Fashion Week- Vo Viet Chung – Vietnam

Kuala Lumpur Asia Fashion Week- Vo Viet Chung – Vietnam

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Designer granted UNESCO insignia

(25-07-2006)

For the first time ever a Vietnamese fashion designer has been awarded the UNESCO insignia for his unmatched contributions to ao dai traditional dress.

Vietnamese fashion designer Vo Viet Chung received the insignia from the Viet Nam UNESCO Association last week.

Association general secretary Nguyen Xuan Thang said: “The UNESCO insignia is the way to recognise his contributions to the preservation of intangible cultural values in Viet Nam. He is the first designer to receive the honours.”

The 36-year-old designer has been a part of the fashion world for more than 10 years but has worked mainly with ao dai.

“Traditional material such as My A satin and Tan Chau silk give me a limitless inspiration. I’ve never felt bored with these; silk is a part of Vietnamese culture,” Chung said.

My A’ satin and Tan Chau silk, the main materials of his collections, come from a traditional silk village in his native southern province of An Giang. Mo Ve Chau A (Dream of Asia), Su Hoi Sinh (Restoration of Life) and Huyen (Black) are his current collections that have been presented in international fashion shows in Italy and Germany.

“I love the beauty of Vietnamese traditional culture. I’m sure I couldn’t do anything without my background,” Chung said.

Chung plans on bringing his My A satin creations to Shanghai Fashion Week next month.

Chung won the Excellent Designer prize at the Makuhari International Fashion Contest in Japan in 1997. — VNS

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Ao Dai Project Myspace site

www.myspace.com/aodaiproject

About me:
I am also the creator of another Vietnamese blog I called VIETQ (www.vietq.wordpress.com).  I am a producer/filmmaker working on several projects.If you can help me in any way, please email me at: welovedonny@yahoo.com

I don’t consider myself anything really but I do have many hobbies I guess. I would like to think of myself as (deep breath) a historian (documentarian), an illustrator, cartoonist, a writer, producer, actor (blah), a filmmaker, author,  photographer, counselor, comedian, and rapper. Am I all those things? I don’t know. But if thats what I want to be and I do those things, I think I am. Sure, why not?

Currently, I am working on many projects, one of them being my first documentary on the Ao Dai: History/Process/Present Day.

Directors Statement:

Why make a documentary on the Ao Dai? It all started randomly with a great exhibition of the Ao Dai in San Jose (http://www.sjquiltmuseum.org/aoDai_exhibit.htm) at the Museum of Quilts and Textiles. At this event, I had the honor to meet people who loved Vietnamese culture and especially Ao Dai Designer Si Hoang who invited me to invited to film his Ao Dai’s.  I would also like to thank the people who put on this event as inspiration for this project.

I think the Ao Dai itself is very important because I think as a VietQ and being born in America, the younger generation sees lots of sad stories of war over and over and over again and we sometimes push anything Vietnamese away.(Vietnamese Opera anyone? No thanks. Paris by Night #295? We get it Linda Trang Dai and Tommy “NO!”) My goal is to learn the history of things that fascinate me such as the Ao Dai, and hopefully change the younger generation (my cynical self included) and our perceptions of the culture of Vietnam. The Ao Dai to me is a symbol of Vietnamese people: classy, unique, and beautiful. No wonder we are better than anyone else (I kid).

Through this documentary, I hope to learn about the culture of Vietnam as well as collect as many photographs as possible, from old black/white photographs, to Ralph Lauren Ao Dai inspired clothes. From stories to pictures, I think it should be documented. Plus I just like to collect things. I’ll open a random museum one day. Who knows.

HOW YOU CAN HELP:
I am looking for old photos of Ao Dai and people that can help me with the history of the Ao Dai.

My list of those to find information and basically the actual person or friends/families/historians who know this person:
1. Nguyen Cat Tuong
2. Madam Nhu
3. Air Vietnam Ao Dai designers
4. Ngo Viet Thu, Vo Thi Co (architects)
5. Nhi T. Lieu – Scholar
6. Doi Moi, 1986
7. Minh Hanh – designer
8. Bao Phu Nu – Magazine 1st beauty pageant
9. Truong Quynh Mai – best nation costumne
10. Le Si Hoang – designer ***( interviewed)
11. Le Minh Khoa
12. Le Phuong Thao – designer
13. Monica Thoa Tran – designer of trust fund baby
14. Thai Nguyen
15. Ngo Thaoi Uyen – designer
16. Huyen Trang – designer
17. Ngo Viet – collector
18. Nam Son – collector in Saigon
19. Ngan An – Hanoi designer
20. Thuy thuy Shop – Hoi An **(interviewed)
21. Chi shop – Hue **(interviewed)
22. Calvin Hiep – Designer, Paris by night (talked to for few minutes)
23. Mary To – Producer, Paris by night
24. ANY PHOTOGRAHS of dresses/designers who were influeced by the Ao Dai

2. If anyone knows of designers/celebrities in Vietnam or America I can interview who own Ao Dai’s or might have a story to tell, please let me know.

(photo curtesy of Tuyet)

Press Release

For Immediate Release

Contact: Donny Tran 323.244.6140 tran.donny@gmail.com

“The Ao Dai Documentary: Past, Present and Future” needs your help

(HCM, Vietnam) After going to an Ao Dai gallery at the Quilt and Textile Museum in San Jose, Donny Tran found his inspiration for his documentary. His goal was to make a mini documentary that showed the past, present and future of the history of the Ao Dai.

Who started the Ao Dai? How has it changed? What political significance does it have? Who wears them today? Will Viet Q’s continue the tradition?

Donny’s documentary takes him from San Jose, California to Saigon and Hue, Vietnam. He will continue his documentary by filming designers in Santa Ana and scholars around the world through email.

The documentary of the Ao Dai is an example of how beautiful the country of Vietnam is.

However, he still needs your help finding images, and historians of the Ao Dai, before the history is lost.

So he created a site: www.aodaiproject.com in hope that people can email him w/ information and pictures that he will post.

More information about Donny’s Ao Dai documentary, please go to www.aodaiproject.com

“The Ao Dai Documentary: Past, Present and Future” is produced and funded by Donny Tran. Those who would like to help sponsor this project please see below or feel free to email me at tran.donny@gmai.com

***
(photo curtesy of Tuyet!)

France honours Vietnamese fashion designer

14:38′ 06/07/2006 (GMT+7)

VietNamNet – Vietnam’s leading fashion designer Minh Hanh has been honoured by the French Ministry of Culture and Information for her contributions to boosting France-Vietnam cooperation in the area of fashion. The French Consul General, Nicolas Warbery, presented Dang Thi Minh Hanh with the title of “Arts and Literacy Knight” of the Minister of Culture and Information, Renaud Donedieu de Vabres, in Ho Chi Minh City on June 5. Minh Hanh, Director of the Ho Chi Minh City-based Vietnam Fashion and Design Institute was the country’s first fashion stylist who has been granted this title. The French Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City said that over the past years, Minh Hanh has acted as a bridge linking France and Vietnam in the fashion area. In 2001, she was invited to be a member of the jury of ESMOD International Fashion School. One year later, she organised a show, entitled “White Night,” in Paris” and the other, named “Far East,” in Nantes. She has also been a partner of the French Embassy in Ha Noi and the French Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City in organising the Hue Festival, a symbol of bilateral cooperation in the cultural and arts field.   (Source: VNA)

Local designer made French chevalier

(06-07-2006)

Knight in shining fashion: Designer Minh Hanh (centre) poses with friends after receiving the title last night. — VNS Photo Thanh Vu

Vietnamese designer Minh Hanh was granted the title Knight of Arts and Letters (Chevaliers des Lettres et des Arts) by the French government for her contribution to promoting Franco-Vietnamese cultural co-operation in fashion.

Hanh was given the title by Consul General of France Nicolas Warnery in HCM City last night.

Hanh is a leading figure in Viet Nam’s fashion industry and is well-known for her successful combination of Vietnamese traditional fabrics with modern styles, which is present in her ever-changing ao dai designs. Her various collections have been introduced in many countries like Japan, Germany, France and the US. She became the first Vietnamese designer awarded an international prize at a Tokyo Fashion Fair in 1997.

As a director of the Vietnam Fashion Design Institute (Fadin), Hanh initiated Viet Nam Fashion Week – a rendezvous of professional designers, and Viet Nam Collection Grand Prix – a competition for young designers with an international jury, including examiners from the French Fashion Design Institute.

She soon became the bridge between Vietnamese and French fashion after helping boost fashion activities between the two countries through different programmes signed with the French Fashion Design Institute.

Vietnamese designers have won scholarships to France for further study in fashion while French lecturers of fashion have come to Viet Nam to provide training courses to 15 young talented Vietnamese designers.

In 2002, Hanh held two fashion shows dubbed White Night in Paris and Far East in Nantes after joining a two-month course for professional designers in Paris.

She was also invited to join the jury of ESMOD by Paris Cultural Department. As a key fashion partner of the French Consulate in HCM City, she collaborated with French directors and artists to direct Vietnamese and French programmes at Viet Nam’s Festival Hue.

Established in 1975 by French General de Gaulle, the title Knight of Arts and Letters is given to people with outstanding achievements or great contribution to the arts and literature to France and the world. — VNS

Vietnamese fashion no specialty

Vietnamese fashion no specialty

08:52′ 01/07/2006 (GMT+7)

VietNamNet – Many Vietnamese fashion designers have travelled abroad to compete with designers from other countries. Does this mean that new perspectives have been opened for the industry to join in the world community of fashion? Many experts say it is still too early to turn ambition into reality, especially in the ‘current situation’ where Vietnamese fashion is the domain of infantile, unimaginative philistines  Fashion design not applicable Vietnamese fashion designs in general are very monotonous Recent achievements in the fashion industry include the coming of many new fashion designers. Besides the established names, several new names have cropped up on the scene, such as Huyen My, Thu Giang, Nhat Huy, and Xuan Thu. Many of them have been abroad to compete with fashion designers from other countries, winning international awards. This has contributed to the hope of pushing up the country’s industry further in the process of joining the world fashion industry. Vietnamese traditional Ao Dai has been stylised and shown at many international competitions held in Hong Kong, Shanghai, Singapore and other Asian shows. The designers who reworked the trad cut have become well known in other countries, but only as purveyors of the same trite, inconvenient garment. According to designer Sy Hoang, designs normally are just to impress people and help to contribute to brands. Applicable fashion is an area where professional design is a must. In this field, then consumer choice is the first priority. Unfortunately applicable fashion in this country has not been of a level to obtain public confidence. “It might take the industry five or ten years to really be able to develop brands,” said Sy Hoang Poor materials, monotonous designs Designer Vo Viet Chung says that material is very important in fashion. It helps to make designs unique. In Vietnam, only silk and brocade and a handful of other low quality materials are available, meaning, designers are hemmed in design terms. Several years ago, Vietnamese materials like silk, brocade and velvet impressed foreign customers, but rampant overproduction has lowered their quality. Many young designers have had to use low quality material from small markets for their designs, a move that is pretty much professional suicide. Sharing the same view with Chung, Sy Hoang complained that quality of Vietnamese silk is not as high as that of Thai silk. And in addition to problems with materials, the act of design has been paid little attention. Vietnamese fashion designs in general are very monotonous. Many collections produced by seemingly different designers are all too similar. Most designers are also unsuccessful in developing their own brands. Hoang said that usually, without seeing a designers name on a collection, it is quite difficult to tell the work of one from another. Vietnamese people aren’t good at having their own ideas, and copying is rife among designers. Hoang used the example of designer Le Minh Khoa who was applauded for his collection of clothes made of lace. A short time later, a plethora of other designers were using lace in their designs. “This is extremely unprofessional and sets back development of the fashion industry in Vietnam,” Hoang added. (Source: NLD)