AVA was born in 1972 in Antwerp, a Belgian national. In 2003, Ava developed her career and became a famous high-end fashion designer, expanding the market from Antwerp to many places around the world with the brand AVANA.
Inspiration from Co Tu women
Ava confided that she came to Vietnam in 2005 and began to love this beautiful country. After many trips back and forth, in 2010, she decided to settle in Hoi An and open a fashion store under the brand AVANA.
In early 2012, through her work as a project consultant for the International Labor Organization (ILO), Ava had the opportunity to learn about brocade weaving from a group of Co Tu women living in Dhroong village, Ta Lu commune, Dong Giang district. Here, girls from 7 to 8 years old are taught to weave brocade by their grandmothers, mothers, and sisters.
The Yaya Cotu Cooperative was established in early 2013. This is the first cooperative to protect brands, increase product competitiveness and aim to share community benefits. In 2014, Quang Nam registered the trademark “Cotu Yaya Dhroong” with 6 product groups produced at this Cooperative and was granted a certificate of recognition by the Department of Intellectual Property (Ministry of Science and Technology).
Ava’s extensive experience in hand weaving from her time in the West helped her discover the beauty of Co Tu brocade. Ava said that the Co Tu artisans themselves were wonderful and creative. She felt a sense of solidarity among them. The women were very proud of each other’s products.
They were welcoming and friendly to Ava. She came to the village to work with another designer, Nele Block, from Belgium. “We found inspiration from the women here. So we decided to choose this village to start a collaborative project,” Ava said.
In Ava’s eyes, “the Co Tu weave with their whole bodies, the colors and patterns change according to their preferences, especially the beads, which are woven into the fabric”. For Ava, all the women here are “designers”. And “it would be a pity if the good fabrics containing many unique cultural features of theirs were not known by many people”. So Ava began her journey to find a market for Co Tu brocade.
Brocade Connection
Ava worked with 18 artisans to diversify designs and build a brand. Ava made brocade costumes more elegant and simple, but still maintained their identity and made them accessible to many people. Ava adjusted the size, color scheme, and beading techniques... and created the "Cotu yaya" collection.
On “Cotu yaya” products, the delicate beads demonstrate the need to use high technology for traditional products, especially when targeting foreign customers.
Ava wanted to have a mix of European design and Co Tu brocade. Therefore, when making these designs, she used brocade patterns as highlights such as collars, sleeves, skirt hems, necklaces, bracelets, earrings... on the overall silk outfits.
Brocade and silk blend together in one fashion product. The traditional and modern features blend together like a source of inspiration for the artisans to transmit to Ava and vice versa. They constantly discuss to choose the most suitable options.
Ava said that holding a handmade product, you have to feel the effort, time and intelligence of the artisan who made it, and feel the culture it represents. Wishing to convey that special inspiration to customers, each of Ava's products is unique. They may be made of the same material, but they will combine different elements and create different designs.
Ava’s philosophy is sustainable fashion. Sustainability is also reflected in the way she works with local families to utilize local resources and materials, but with an outward-looking vision. That is, helping people create sustainable livelihoods while preserving local culture and local knowledge.
Fashion class
In addition to Avana, Ava also opened the brand Co'tu,re - a wordplay of Co Tu and haute couture (high-class fashion). The designs blend Co Tu brocade and modern fashion into a high-end fashion line by Ava, created from a common idea with Belgian designer living in Portugal, Ms. Nele de Block. Their products are launched in different markets: Belgium, Vietnam, Japan, France, Italy... Their collection is diverse in products, from dresses, shirts, pants, shoes, handbags, necklaces, bracelets, earrings, rings...
Ava confided that the traditional brocade weaving of the Co Tu people in Quang Nam has... a future. As one of the most wonderful ethnic minorities in Vietnam, they have the ability to express themselves through their own weaving craft. And the weaving craft has a chance to survive even longer when the craftsmen participate in the economic community.
The combination of Co Tu tradition and modern fashion has created a sustainable livelihood for Co Tu women in Dhrôông village. Each day, some women earn about 400,000 - 500,000 VND. With products that sell well on the market, they also receive additional profits.
Ava’s team will resume work in early September after a hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic. They are currently focusing on production for the new collection. Dhroong Village is also back in operation, and their weaving workshop and craft shop are being rebuilt. “The weaving group is still growing steadily. We have more than three generations of weavers and I believe the total number of weavers will increase to 40,” Ava said.
Last year (2023), during Vietnam Design Week, Ava collaborated with local artisans, designers and artists to incorporate the Ya Ya image into Avana's latest collection. They launched the YaYa SaRong collection, which was a collaboration between designer Ava, Kon Gauss and Co Tu brocade weavers. And their YaYa Sa Rong collection was in the top 25 out of 150 entries voted by the jury of the competition at Vietnam Design Week.
Also in mid-September, Ava will open a second small fashion production and retail space in Hoi An. This space will certainly devote most of its area to Co Tu brocade.
Source: https://baoquangnam.vn/yeu-tho-cam-cung-ava-3140970.html
![[Photo] Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh chairs Government Conference with localities on economic growth](https://vstatic.vietnam.vn/vietnam/resource/IMAGE/2025/2/21/f34583484f2643a2a2b72168a0d64baa)
Comment (0)