Ao dai designer Si Hoang’s latest project is as a costume maker for a play opening at Ho Chi Minh City Theater on September 20.

Costumes maketh the play

A scene in the dress rehearsal of Ta Quan Le Van Duyet. Designer Si Hoang researched the costumes to make them historically accurate. Ao dai designer Si Hoang’s latest project is as a costume maker for a play opening at Ho Chi Minh City Theater on September 20.

With over 20 years experience making traditional Vietnamese ao dai, Si Hoang is busy making 135 gowns for a piece called Ta Quan Le Van Duyet (Duke Le Van Duyet) to be performed this month in HCMC. Hoang accepted the job as costume designer three months ago and immediately went to the country’s old capital of Hue to study the costumes of the Nguyen Dynasty. The play is about Le Van Duyet (1764-1832), who was a great general of the Nguyen Dynasty, the last monarchy of Vietnam. From 1813 to 1816, he was the governor of Gia Dinh Citadel, the core of what is now Ho Chi Minh City, and was the main force behind the development of the city. Duyet was in deep conflict with King Minh Mang, who reigned from 1820 to 1841, which led to the destruction of his tomb by the King in 1835. The tomb was restored by King Thieu Tri in 1841 and now lies at Vu Tung Street in Binh Thanh District. As a part of the research needed to make the costumes as authentic as possible, Hoang visited museums and spoke to old ladies who knew about the period costumes but they were to unable to provide him with all the details. “I have made the clothes in two categories using two contrasting colors – the red one for Le Van Duyet’s party, and the black for King Minh Mang’s party,” Hoang said. The designer also revealed that each character’s rank was depicted using images of embroidered tigers, lions, and cranes. Hard working career Hoang says his greatest challenge so far was designing dresses for last Tet holiday’s cai luong (traditional southern folk opera) performance of Chiec Ao Thien Nga (the swan’s gown), with a cast of 400, costing more than VND2 billion (US$121,212). The swan’s gown depicts the Vietnamese invasion of Chinese warlord Trieu Da and the tragic love affair between Da’son Trong Thuy and Vietnamese princess My Chau. The performance’s Vietnamese costumes were inspired by Dong Son cultural costumes in the An Duong Vuong Dynasty (700BC-100BC), but the designer had to study for months and consult the Chinese Consulate General in HCMC to make the costumes for Trieu Da’s Chinese party. “I always tell myself that I must respect history and facts before beauty,” Hoang said. Two years ago, Hoang won the record in the Vietnamese Book of Records (Vietbook) for creating the greatest number of dresses for a cai luong opera. His hard work for one cai luong performance, Kim Van Kieu, helped draw tens of thousands to see the play. He said he was reluctant at first to accept thejob as the Kim Van Kieu costume designer, because he had to design 435 dresses in three months. “But director Hoa Ha convinced me,” Hoang said: “Up to 100 staff worked day and night on the project.” The ao dai and costume designer was a talented painter before he accepted his “fate” and answered the call of fashion two decades ago. His work designing ao dai brings big money, while costume design for theater barely earns him anything – but he loves it. He is also hoping to open a tea house specializing in performance of traditional music and dancing in the Independence Palace. Source: Tuoi Tre