In 2024, the Vietnamese fashion industry witnessed many "overseas" appearances that left strong impressions.
In October 2024, designer Do Manh Cuong held a show at Shanghai Fashion Week (China), marking the third time he brought his own brand beyond the borders of Vietnam.
In the Spring - Summer 2025 fashion season taking place in September 2024, designer Tran Hung introduced the collection for the 13th consecutive time, within the framework of London Fashion Week (UK).
Moving to Milan Fashion Week (Italy), Phan Dang Hoang became the first Vietnamese designer to present a new collection live.
In an interview with Dan Tri reporter, designers Do Manh Cuong, Tran Hung and Phan Dang Hoang shared about their journey to bring Vietnamese brands to the world over the past year.
Exceeding strict standards
Bringing Vietnamese fashion to the world is a challenging journey for any designer, even big names who have been in the profession for many years. There are many regulations that require adaptation and high concentration.
Designer Do Manh Cuong shared: "Going international and integrating into a completely new environment, we have to work quickly, efficiently and accurately. At major fashion weeks, we have to handle a lot of paperwork, contracts, procedures... which sometimes makes me stressed.
However, looking at it on the positive side, those things help things run smoothly, ensuring the interests of all parties.
Pressure is inevitable in the development process. The most important thing is that we must see the opportunity to continue moving forward."
From left to right: Lan Khue, designer Do Manh Cuong, Thanh Hang and H'Hen Nie in the show at "Shanghai Fashion Week".
In his journey to reach out internationally, designer Tran Hung affirmed that the biggest difficulty is making his personal brand an official member of the London Fashion Week organization.
“To hold an official show at a fashion week abroad, you have to be a member of that fashion week organization. Otherwise, you can show as a guest, or participate in unofficial fashion weeks or side events,” he said.
Once approved for an official show, you will have to sign a contract with the Fashion Council - the organizer of the fashion week, and also take care of production costs and model hiring."
For young designers like Phan Dang Hoang, appearing on the international stage is truly an extremely stressful challenge.
Designer Phan Dang Hoang feels proud to have successfully organized the show after many difficulties and challenges.
To attend Milan Fashion Week , the designer born in 2000 prepared for nearly a year. He had to go through many steps of document review, in addition to ensuring financial stability.
"According to the regulations of fashion week, a collection when presented must have enough quantity, from 25 to 30 designs or more.
I brought a total of 40 outfits to Milan by myself. The journey was so stressful and tiring that I wanted to give up many times.
Besides, I also had financial difficulties due to many costs related to the organization such as sound, lighting, backstage, makeup... Luckily, I received support from two other fashion brands.
After all, I completed the show, fulfilled my dream," designer Phan Dang Hoang confided.
Conquering international fashion enthusiasts
Talking about the reason for choosing the Chinese market by participating in the Shanghai Fashion Week Spring - Summer 2025 , designer Do Manh Cuong explained: "China has a large population. Most of the world's major fashion brands are concentrated here. We realize that China is a potential market to conquer.
On the other hand, some Chinese stars have chosen to wear my clothes, such as star Dung To Nhi. Therefore, we have more motivation and confidence to develop our brand in the market of the billion-people country."
Designer Do Manh Cuong's designs have received international media attention.
Icelandic singer Björk Guðmundsdottir chose designer Do Manh Cuong as her partner in her latest project. Björk Guðmundsdottir gave much praise to his designs at Shanghai Fashion Week and New York Fashion Week (USA).
In addition, the costume designed by Do Manh Cuong was also worn by actress Lily Collins in Emily in Paris season 4, as well as on the global promotional poster for the film.
"I am very happy that my designs appeared in Vogue magazine, as well as received high praise from the international media," said designer Do Manh Cuong.
Ariana Grande wears an outfit by designer Tran Hung.
In March, singer Ariana Grande wore a dress from designer Tran Hung's Fall-Winter 2023 collection to promote her new album Eternal Sunshine and the MV We Can't Be Friends (Wait For Your Love) .
Designer Tran Hung emphasized: "I feel very happy and proud that Ariana Grande wore my design in the campaign to launch her new album.
This is the first time Ariana Grande has worn an outfit from a Vietnamese brand, made by a Vietnamese designer."
After the Spring - Summer 2025 show at Milan Fashion Week , designer Phan Dang Hoang had the opportunity to chat with Vogue magazine editor-in-chief Anna Wintour.
The "Iron Lady" of the world fashion village gave him many compliments, as well as gave him advice on how to develop his brand.
"The first live show held abroad helped my brand become more widely known. This promoted an increase in brand awareness, before moving on to other long-term business plans," designer Phan Dang Hoang revealed to Dan Tri reporter.
Vietnamese brands are capable of reaching international standards
Designer Do Manh Cuong believes that to attract international customers, especially celebrities or entertainment stars, Vietnamese brands need to have their own identity along with high quality.
He explained: "To build an outstanding identity and quality, each designer and brand needs to go through a process of training, cultivating techniques, thinking, as well as experiencing failure.
There is no general formula for any designer or brand to succeed when reaching out to the world, because each individual's identity is different."
According to designer Do Manh Cuong, bringing Vietnamese fashion to the international market is a real "war". In this case, the designer and the brand need to prepare themselves as warriors, with an artistic soul hidden inside. Balancing commercial and artistic elements is difficult, but this forces designers to adapt for the long haul.
"Each designer should develop their own identity well, not only flying with ideas but also relying on the market because fashion is a business," he emphasized.
Designer Phan Dang Hoang always sends messages about the image and culture of Vietnam through each collection.
For designer Tran Hung, the key to attracting customers and global celebrities lies in creativity. Each designer must have a strong personal mark to be different and stand out in the competitive market.
"Every time I successfully organize a show, I feel proud as a designer from Vietnam. I also hope that in the future, more and more Vietnamese brands will enter the world.
Vietnamese fashion has enough potential to make its name on the international fashion map. If the designer himself wants to reach out to the world, try to pursue that. You should start from the smallest things, approaching international fashion gradually," designer Tran Hung emphasized.
According to designer Phan Dang Hoang, each Vietnamese brand has its own identity and way of expression to create a difference compared to international brands.
He said: "The world fashion market offers every Vietnamese designer a lot of potential to develop their career.
In addition to individual talent and effort, each designer needs to carefully calculate and come up with solutions that are not too costly. There, the brand's unique identity is still maintained, while meeting the expectations of the international market."
In October 2024, designer Do Manh Cuong introduced his Spring - Summer 2025 collection at Shanghai Fashion Week . The collection is based on the idea of maximalism. The designs impress with their elaborate shapes and use of many complex techniques.
In September 2024, designer Tran Hung launched his 13th consecutive collection at London Fashion Week . The collection exploits the elegant beauty of orchids. Having pursued the "sustainable fashion" trend for many years, designer Tran Hung wanted to convey the message of environmental protection through the image of orchids - a flower heavily affected by climate change.
At the end of September 2024, designer Phan Dang Hoang introduced a new collection at Milan Fashion Week . The collection was inspired by the silk paintings of famous painter Nguyen Phan Chanh, combined with ceramic art to honor the artistic values imbued with Vietnamese identity.
Photo: Character provided
Source: https://dantri.com.vn/tet-2025/nha-thiet-ke-viet-vuon-tam-quoc-te-dam-choi-lon-nhan-ket-qua-xung-dang-20250125174503527.htm
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