Talented female designer offers áo dài designs

Fashion model Tuyết Lan will wear a design from fashion designer Thủy Nguyễn during the show Tình Tang (Folk Sound) in HCM City on April 17 — Photo dep.com.vn

The show will feature her latest collections of more than 60 áo dài designs on a stage with sound and light effects.

Her designs are a combination of simplicity and utility in natural colours, including áo dài in high-quality materials like satin, silk and velvet.

Thủy uses not only red and black, her favourite colours, but also vibrant elements like lemon green, golden yellow, mid-night blue, scarlet and lotus pink.

Her clothes are inspired by Đông Hồ paintings, a folk woodblock art printed on paper from the bark of the dó tree by artisans from Đông Hồ Village in the north with colours made from natural materials.

Each of her design features traditional cultural values of the country.

Thủy has worked with catwalk director Xuân Lan and composer Ngô Hồng Quang on the catwalk event.

"I wanted my collection to be a mixture of luxury fashion and simple real life in the áo dài. I hope my trends will be popular among urban women every season of the year,” sai Thủy, founder of the fashion brand Thủy Design House.

Although she likes working on ready-to-wear and luxury designs, Thuy said in a recent interview with local media that that if Vietnamese designers do not create áo dài for formal and informal uses, “they will remain amateurish”.

“My designs’ shapes are distinctly Vietnamese,” said the 38-year-old.

Thủy, a native of Hà Nội, began her love for fashion after moving to live with her husband in Ukraine in 2003. She studied painting at school but is self-taught at fashion design.

In December, her oil-on-canvas painting, Sương Mù Đỏ Thẫm (Dark Red Fog) (160x160cm), sold for US$100,000 in an online auction at Sotheby’s...

Thủy has worked for several TV shows and with top artists and fashion icons.

She is also a founder of The Factory Contemporary Arts Centre, a cultural centre that encourages young artists in different fields.

Tình Tang will attract 30 fashion models, including top faces such as Tuyết Lan and Mâu Thủy.

The show will take place at 7pm on April 17 at the Continental Saigon Hotel at 132-134 Đồng Khởi Street in District 1.