Vietnamese arts and crafts honoured at ASEAN Festival

Designer Lan Huong, in collaboration with Kalawin – Thailand’s leading fashion school and fashion house, brought six collections of the traditional Vietnamese long dress (Ao Dai) and Ao Yem (brassiere) to the festival, which had left a strong impression o­n visitors, particularly during the closing ceremony.

"Vietnamese artisans and businesses brought here many products and art performances to introduce our traditional cultural identity to ASEAN friends. Through the fashion show, ASEAN friends had a chance to see the beauty of the Vietnamese nation, particularly charming Vietnamese women," said Pham Quang Vinh, Charge D’Affaire of the Vietnamese Embassy in Thailand.

Worthy of note was that the show with Kalawin’s foreign and Thai models dressed in traditional Vietnamese dress and brassiere highlighted the harmonisation in cultural exchanges and traditional fashion, and was an effective way of introducing the image of Vietnamese long dress to international friends.

The Kalawin director said she will continue to cooperate with the Vietnamese Embassy to promote the image of Ao Dai.

"The Vietnamese long dress is very beautiful and we really want to possess o­ne as it is graceful and womanly," said the director, adding that the promotion of the Vietnamese Ao Dai abroad will help other countries further understand and love the country.

After the show, many guests stayed o­n to ask organisers for further information about Ao Dai. They said they were surprised at Lan Huong’s collections The Legendary Dong Ho and Hanoi Old Quarters for hand-made oil drawings o­n silk, creating special colour effects. Meanwhile, the collection Mimosa highlighted the beauty of flowers during the four seasons of the year such as lotus, apricot and peach.

Designer Lan Huong said she ordered materials from skilled artisan Trieu Van Mao in Van Phuc silk village in Ha Tay province and o­ne of the collections was designed for female chief delegates participating in the APEC Week in Hanoi last November.

Apart from Ao Dai, Vietnam also introduced water puppetry and embroidery arts and handicrafts. The Dao Thuc Water Puppetry Troupe in Hanoi’s Gia Lam district was asked to perform two to three times a day, leaving strong impression o­n viewers.

Notably, visitors had the chance to enjoy the Dong Ho painting art displayed by artisans from famous Dong Ho painting village.

"This is the first time I have seen o­ne of the typical products of Vietnam’s folk culture. Looking at the paintings, I feel a sense of relief, as well as the hidden beauty in Vietnam’s folk culture," said a local Thai citizen.

Nearly 100 Vietnamese artisans, artists, designers and businesspeople attended the festival. The success of the festival opened up opportunities for all ASEAN member countries to share experiences in preserving traditional cultural values and expanding outlets for handicrafts.