From a boy playing with paper dolls to a designer with 4 dresses appearing at Cannes

"I start my day quite late, have lunch and go to work in the workshop. In the afternoon, I exercise. Late at night is when I spend time on new ideas," Phan Huy shared with Dan Tri reporter about his lifestyle at the age of 25.

The young designer recently surprised domestic fashionistas when he had 4 dresses appear on the red carpet of Cannes 2024. Singer Ginta (Switzerland), model Stephania Morales (Colombia) and model Anna Olbrycht (France) are the stars who wore his designs.

"This industry is very new in my hometown"

Phan Huy was born and raised in Quang Tri in a family of four siblings. Huy's passion for fashion was revealed quite early when he started playing with paper dolls with his friends in the neighborhood when he was in kindergarten. Knowing that Huy had a talent for drawing, his friends often asked him to make clothes.

In 3rd grade, he officially drew fashion sketches. At that time, he accidentally found a fashion forum and realized that this was a very special new world for him. He posted his work on the forum but did not reveal his age. The sketch quickly received many compliments. After knowing Huy's age, everyone was quite surprised.

Phan Huy once struggled to pursue his dream when fashion was considered a new industry in his hometown at that time (Photo: NVCC).

Huy's eldest brother works in interior and graphic design. He is also the one who inspired Huy's artistic inspiration. Since he was a child, he often bought Huy drawing books. Huy's mother had a curtain sewing business. When he grew up, he learned that his grandfather was a good tailor in his hometown.

However, Phan Huy's passion was interrupted when he began to think about reality.

The young designer recalled: "After a while, I stopped thinking about my dream of doing fashion. Because this industry is really new in my hometown. In the past, many people had their own prejudices about the industry, so I never thought I would continue.

By grade 12, I seriously thought about my passion. I spent two months thinking about whether I would do well and learning practical knowledge about the industry, the difficulties I would encounter... Finally, I officially chose to pursue the path of fashion."

Effort is not competition

After a period of hard study, Phan Huy achieved the position of second place in the entrance exam for Fashion Design major, Ho Chi Minh City University of Architecture. Because he wanted to improve his skills such as sewing and drawing, he researched and registered for extra classes in addition to the theories at school.

The graduation project "caused a fever" on many forums, helping Phan Huy become the valedictorian of the Fashion major at Ho Chi Minh City University of Architecture (Photo: NVCC).

To earn extra money to pay for his studies, which are considered "expensive", he took on fashion illustration and worked part-time at brands that suited his style.

Moreover, he also had the opportunity to work with seniors in the industry to gain experience. The time spent studying and working helped him save money to complete his graduation project.

"The biggest difficulty is the pressure of time. During my student life, I had almost no free time. This is a creative art field, so work is always flying around in my head, and I can't just put it aside and stop. Sometimes when I feel inspired, I have to do it right away. That can make me a bit tired but also quite happy," Huy confided.

Phan Huy also recalled the days when he had to scour fabric markets and stores to find materials. This process lasted for weeks, making him feel exhausted. Finally, Huy's efforts were recognized when he became the valedictorian. Huy said that this achievement was thanks to his constant efforts in each project.

Huy always feels regretful after each project he has done. He feels regretful because he always thinks he can fix "this or that point" to do better. For his graduation collection, he has carefully prepared himself with both theory and practical experience at professional workshops in the country.

"I tried not because of competition. I just wanted to do my best," Phan Huy confided.

Chance to Cannes

Haute Couture (high-end tailoring) is the direction Phan Huy chose from the beginning instead of the fashion line that is easily accessible to the masses. Because he realized that his strength is designs that require meticulousness, creativity, material handling, and embellishment. However, he also could not avoid feeling hesitant because this is a difficult segment.

Vietnam is a great source of creative inspiration for Phan Huy. What is special is that he brings contemporary elements into his designs so that viewers can feel the familiarity. The ideas come from his observation and contemplation of events in daily life. When he is out of ideas, he looks at flower arrangement, home design...

He explained: "When I want to talk about a country, culture, people or landscape, I don't include it in a narrative way but develop it based on the most special points. For example, taking the image of a field but not specifically describing the haystack, banyan tree, river, but adding evocative details such as dragonflies, crops, afternoon sunlight. From there, people looking at it don't feel heavy."

Phan Huy's dresses caught the attention of Steven Doan, a Vietnamese-born stylist working in the UK. Steven Doan accidentally saw the designs on social media and the two got in touch through a mutual connection.

This chance encounter helped Phan Huy's name to be mentioned on the Cannes red carpet. This important milestone helped him to confidently make better products to introduce the skills of Vietnamese craftsmen to the world.

Previously, Phan Huy also organized a fashion show in France. This helped him attract many customers from all over the world such as France, Russia, Korea...

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/nhip-song-tre/tu-chang-trai-choi-bup-be-giay-den-ntk-co-4-chiec-vay-xuat-hien-tai-cannes-20240604200008931.htm