Nguyen Duc Loc. Photo: company Y Van Hien

Nguyen Duc Loc is the founder of Y Van Hien, a company specializing in the reconstruction of the royal cultural heritage. He notably created the costumes used in the film Phuong Khau dedicated to the Nguyen court in 19 ^e century, organized an exhibition of wedding photos in which couples were dressed in the old fashioned way, and facilitated a number of workshops to share his passion for traditional clothing. Nguyen Duc Loc is delighted to note, for two years, a growing enthusiasm of young people for these costumes.

" The concept "national costume" used by our ancestors does not designate a particular type of dress, but all the clothes worn by the king, by the members of the court and by the population, clothes which distinguish one people from another, "he explains.

The costumes of courtesans of the Nguyen dynasty. Photo: company Y Van Hien

Dai Viet Co Phong is a group of young people on Facebook who love History. Many of them are interested in ancient costumes. This is the case of Tran Thi Trang and Nguyen Thi Kieu Linh, respectively pharmacy and fashion students, who both dream of opening a store.

“In China, old-fashioned costumes have a lot of followers. I love them too, but I couldn't find any in Vietnam. So I decided to make some myself and got a lot of encouragement, ”says the first.

"In 2018 I wanted to make myself a princess costume for Tet and I had the desired colors printed on fabric," recalls the second. "But since the cost price was very expensive if you only printed for one suit, I decided to make a good 20 or so. As soon as I announced it to the Dai Viet Co Phong group, I was able to sell everything else, so much demand was there. So I said to myself why not make a business out of it ”.

Today more and more fashion enthusiasts are interested in traditional costumes. Not only young people, older people are also trying it.

“These beautiful costumes deserve to be worn on big holidays. I feel like they make me sweeter and renew me, "said one lady.

“These costumes are definitely intended for special occasions. What I want is for fashion designers to adapt them to everyday life, so that they can be worn more frequently, ”says another.

And us, we want to say that fashion is an eternal restart. And so much the better if it allows us to create a link between us and those of bygone times.

Anh Tuan