Vu Viet Ha - love for Ao Dai in the 1930s

Inspired by famous Vietnamese paintings

What motivated you to become an ao dai designer?

The reason I stick with Ao Dai is because of luck when my creative products were well received from the very beginning. Singer Thuy Dung was the first celebrity to wear my outfit on television. It was an evening gown design innovated from Ao Dai in the graduation project collection.

Ao Dai designer Vu Viet Ha

In 2005, my first collection of Ao Dai was published in Mot magazine, the second collection was shown at Hue Festival 2006. Looking back, I admit that those were quite "naive" Ao Dai designs, but they helped me get my first customers. Many people have known me since then, they still stick with me and accompany me until today, when I have had a long journey with Vietnamese Ao Dai.

Why did the 1930s ao dai become the brand associated with Vu Viet Ha 's name ?

The opportunity for me to become deeply attached to the ancient ao dai originated from historical and artistic documents. When looking at paintings by famous Vietnamese artists such as Mai Trung Thu, Le Pho, etc., I was impressed by the images of girls wearing ao dai. I consider these to be the most realistic and clear fashion sketches of the ancient Vietnamese ao dai and also a valuable document to exploit and create.

Lotus silk ao dai in the Extended collection with model is dancer Linh Nga

Since 2007, I have been sketching and creating real models based on paintings by famous artists. I have been pursuing this job for many years, while working, I have been researching, improving, refining details, updating trends and from there perfecting the ao dai shape with its own unique features.

Besides the shape, the most special thing about my old ao dai is the material. Everything is researched and selected by me. From brocade to silk, hemp, pineapple silk, lotus silk... all are selected by me from raw fibers, using hand weaving methods, dyeing natural colors according to the techniques of artisans in the craft village...

During the 9 years of participating in Vietnam Designers House (a model established in 2010, gathering many Vietnamese designers to display and sell new designs), while everyone else was making traditional Ao Dai with a waist, I still chose the old Ao Dai. At that time, the selling price of an Ao Dai was equivalent to a month's salary of an office worker, but I still sold even just 1-2 Ao Dai per month. I considered that as a motivation for myself to try harder.

YOUNG PEOPLE GIVE ME NEW LESSONS

With such modest sales, how do you make a living as a designer?

I am lucky to always be in the top of the highest-grossing designers at Vietnam Designers House. I have evening gowns, street dresses and many other types of clothing and they provide the economy to support my passion for ao dai.

1930s Ao Dai by Vu Viet Ha

Photo: Glasses - FBNV

It wasn’t until about 6 years ago that the 1930s Ao Dai became a popular trend. Famous beauties like Tang Thanh Ha and dancer Linh Nga wearing it for Tet photoshoots or going out for spring outings contributed to its further spread. The Ao Dai of the past has found its own place.

Now, I am more confident with Ao Dai. I am still passionate about researching, exploring new materials and am always full of creative ideas. I really appreciate this job, each collection is a story, each Ao Dai is a traditional cultural product that breathes life.

In June 2024, he made an impressive appearance at the Vietnam International Fashion Week held in Ho Chi Minh City. Why was he absent during the fall-winter show held in the capital Hanoi?

I was hospitalized for nearly a month after exhausting myself to do 3-4 collections at the same time, performing at fashion weeks, Hue Festival, cultural festivals, etc. I did small collections, orders and also did teaching. I am a sports enthusiast, if I don’t exercise every day I feel tired, unhealthy, lacking excitement and creativity, but I was still exhausted. I realized that without health, there is nothing, even creativity will be stunted.

Vu Viet Ha's Ao Dai designs at Dubai Fashion Week

In addition, 100% of the materials for the new collection are sourced from the people of the Northwest. The big storm and flood in 2024 affected the progress. These two factors made me understand that I had to slow down. I stopped the plan to launch the new collection at the event in Hanoi but will come back strongly around Tet and spring 2025.

What do you think about creative freedom, especially in ao dai creation?

There are countless designers making Ao Dai, so it is not easy to build a brand. I think success sometimes comes at a price, in terms of health, time, money and even family loss. However, if you persevere, put your heart into your work and have a little luck, the results are well worth it.

Vu Viet Ha and the collection presented at Dubai Fashion Week

I believe that each time a new collection is launched, it must balance aesthetic elements, visual effects, bring emotions and be applicable in life. Some of my designs are commented as being too fanciful, too artistic, but in fact I have balanced between creativity and application. Fashion design is not only to satisfy the ego but also to bring value to the actual wearer.

What rare material do you love to use in Ao Dai?

I make Ao Dai from brocade, silk, pineapple silk, hemp, lotus silk…, all natural and rare materials. Lotus silk fabric was discovered by me on a trip to Phung Xa village, Ha Tay. It takes more than 11,000 lotus plants and hundreds of workers to make 1 meter of fabric.

Because it is so elaborate, lotus silk is extremely expensive and is only made into scarves. Lotus silk fabric has outstanding advantages in terms of elasticity, rustic fabric surface and fragrant lotus scent. I combined lotus silk with silk and linen to create the Extended collection - still the designs of ao dai following the ancient ao dai form of the 1930s in the photo series of Linh Nga and child model Minh Thao.

Life is so full and busy, but I know you still teach regularly?

Hanoi College of Art is the cradle that nurtured my passion for fashion from the beginning. In 2014, I received an invitation from the Faculty of Applied Arts and returned to the school to teach fashion design with gratitude and appreciation to this school.

Teaching is not easy and takes a lot of time, but on the contrary, young people give me new lessons. I learn from them how to be quick, update new trends quickly, get many new ideas, and through that, I can transform old and new values.

What advice do you have for young designers? What do they need to succeed?

When I was in school more than 20 years ago, there was no social media, the internet was not yet developed, so there was a lack of information about the world. Nowadays, young people have many supporting tools, they are both quick and good at catching up with trends, but they are a bit hasty. I think young people need to be diligent, persistent, and work hard to have a solid foundation in order to hope to reap long-term success.

What about being a mentor for national cultural costume competitions?

The competitions I mentored recently, Miss Vietnam National, Vietnam Next-Gen Fashion, are similar to teaching. I get to meet young designers and go from surprise to admiration because they are so talented. They bring me excitement, I learn from young people, so this is worth spending time on.

Although I am so busy, I always give priority to the most necessary things. Every day I am in Hanoi, I still take my children to school in the morning and pick them up in the afternoon. That is the happiness that I cherish and want to contribute to my family.

How will your family's Tet be?

Unlike the general trend of society where Tet is increasingly overlooked, my family and I still maintain the old Tet traditions of Hanoians. At this age, I am still assigned to wash dong leaves to wrap banh chung. In recent years, my family has had the habit of shopping for Tet in the highlands, the whole family goes to buy sticky rice, smoked meat, wild peach blossoms... to celebrate Tet.

Being reunited with loved ones and being with my family brings me spiritual fulfillment and makes me happy.

The opportunity for me to become deeply attached to the ancient ao dai originated from historical and artistic documents. When looking at paintings by famous Vietnamese artists such as Mai Trung Thu, Le Pho, etc., I was impressed by the images of girls wearing ao dai. I consider these to be the most realistic and clear fashion sketches of the ancient Vietnamese ao dai and also a valuable document to exploit and create.

Vu Viet Ha was born and works in Hanoi. He graduated from Hanoi College of Art and University of Industrial Fine Arts in 2001.

With more than 2 decades of continuous work, he has left his mark with many impressive collections such as Day of Return, Love Story of the Stone Plateau, Old Dream, Migration, Returning to the Homeland, Sending the Mong People to the Future, Who is She?...

In addition to introducing new collections at fashion weeks, he regularly participates in Ao Dai Festivals, Hue Festivals, and Vietnam Day events held in many countries. The first award he won was the Murase Design Institute Award at the Vietnam Collection Grand Prix 2004 competition.

Always searching and developing new materials

I had the opportunity to collaborate with Mr. Vu Viet Ha since 2017, when I took a photo shoot with model Miss Ngoc Han. Since then, I have traveled from the South to the North many times, followed him to the Northwest or to Dubai (UAE) to take photos of new collections that he introduced at fashion, cultural and diplomatic events in Vietnam.

What impressed me most was that he was a rare designer who always sought and developed new materials. He had worked with rare and unique materials such as brocade, pineapple silk, lotus silk, etc. And I was under pressure to express that difference and uniqueness through images in the most beautiful way. Each shoot was a challenge but full of inspiration because his ao dai had its own character, a nostalgic shape, but was renewed in an extremely interesting way.

In addition, Vu Viet Ha is an intellectual designer with a solid knowledge and cultural foundation, always able to sublimate with creativity. He is one of the Vietnamese designers who does the best job of developing Vietnamese culture and identity.

Photographer with glasses

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/vu-viet-ha-tinh-yeu-voi-ao-dai-thap-nien-1930-185250111191036878.htm