Vietnamese designer showcases wedding dresses on Paris Fashion Week runway

The collection of 15 designs, titled “Thuong”, was inspired by Hoa’s love for her family and homeland.

“I have lived in the U.S. for two years. I wanted to return to Vietnam but couldn’t due to Covid-19. During that time, many of my friends and customers had to cancel their weddings. This inspired me to create this collection,” Hoa said.

Hoa’s designs aim to be sustainable fashion wear through the use of natural and environmentally friendly materials including silk, organza, satin, and chiffon. In addition to the two familiar colors of the wedding dress, white and beige, Hoa also made a black wedding dress from the famous Lanh My A silk in Tan Chau, An Giang Province.

 

 

Vietnamese designer showcases wedding dresses on Paris Fashion Week runway

Phương Hoa mang váy cưới Lãnh Mỹ A lên sàn thời trang Paris

In mid-2022, she went to the Tam Lang textile workshop to order Lanh My A silk because the fabric had to be woven by hand and is only available in limited quantities. This type of fabric is warm in winter, cool in summer and it exudes luxuriousness.

Hoa said: “After three years of research, I decided to use this fabric for the collection. During my visits to the textile workshop, I appreciated it even more when I saw how hard people there work to make the fabric.

Tran Phuong Hoa (L) and the models are at backstage of her show in Paris Fashion Week. Photo by Tran Phuong Hoa

According to Hoa, currently, there are not many people in the Vietnamese silk business, so the mulberry trees used to dye Lanh My A silk are no longer farmed because it takes a lot of effort and time for only meager profits.

Through “Thuong”, Hoa said she wants to preserve and promote more Lanh My A, a precious and fashionable Vietnamese fabric in danger of dying out and disappearing. Before Hoa, designers Vo Viet Chung and Cong Tri also presented outfits made of this fabric to the world.

It took Hoa half a year to make the collection. The process of transporting the collection from Vietnam to France was a challenge for Hoa as she had to keep the form of the dresses because the material was prone to wrinkles.

The rose wedding dress in the collection “Thuong” are made of the rare Lanh My A silk

The 31-year-old focuses on using modern 3D rendering techniques, pleating and attaching dried flowers to the dresses. Some of the dresses are inspired by the traditional Vietnamese ao dai fused with classic European designs.

In 2022, Hoa introduced the “Viet Flora” collection on the runway of New York Fashion Week.