Vietnamese heritage featured through an Ao Dai collection by designer Adrian Anh Tuan (Photo: baovanhoa.vn)Describing traditional fabric a limitation, designer Thuy Nguyen, who has morethan 10 years of experience in the fashion industry, said that due to isshortage of diversity, traditional fabric fails to find favour among designers.
Thuy said she gives priority to traditional Vietnamese materials when creatinga high-end design, and always tries her best to breath traditional craft tomodern fashion.
As for Thuy, costumes are not only sets of clothes but also a vividillustration for wearers’ understanding of traditional culture and love fortraditional stories.
Meanwhile, designer Huu Anh Zoner pointed out that cultural differences betweenAsia and Europe make it hard for Vietnamese outfits with traditional identitiesto enter the European markets; however, opportunities will come up if designersare able to pen specific strategies in long term.
Market survey is important, he said, suggesting the Overseas Vietnamese communitiesare potential customers.
Exporters should focus on this niche market as the Vietnamese people areimmensely proud of their national culture, Huu An explained.
Long dress designer Song Toan said 30% of his customers are foreigners, who areaware of his products through Instagram.
In the context of globalisation andincreasing economic development, Vietnam is looking to developits cultural industries as a strategic asset for diplomaticand international cooperation, which help showcase the country'sidentity.
The 'cultural industry' is an umbrella term for the combination of thoseinvolved in the creation, production, distribution, and consumption of culturalor creative products and the protection of intellectual property.
Fashion is among 12 spearheads of a strategy for the development ofVietnam’s cultural industries until 2020 with a vision to 2030 issued by thePrime Minister in 2016./.
VNA
