Inspired by his hometown’s cuisine, Mr. Nguyen Minh Cong (26 years old, from Vinh Long) “turned” Western dishes into princess dresses that made many people excited.

The Covid-19 epidemic affected Mr. Cong’s fashion design work to a halt. During more than four months of social distancing at home, he immediately came up with the idea of ​​​​designing mini skirts from his hometown food so that he could unleash his creativity and miss his job.

Mr. Nguyen Minh Cong “father” of a collection of evening dresses made from Western dishes (Photo: NVCC).

With the familiar cakes of the Southwest region such as: pancakes, jackfruit leaf cake, tapioca silkworm cake, Beo cake, sweet wet cake, pigskin cake, pomegranate dew… ” into a collection of princess dresses called “Fashion – Food Mini Collection” that viewers can’t bear to eat.

According to Mr. Cong, when embarking on a “collection” of sketching patterns of clothes corresponding to each dish, he encountered many difficulties. Because of the time in the countryside, he did not have drawing tools, nor sewing equipment to design.

Dresses made from folk cakes of the West (Photo: NVCC).

So, he used paper to cut into a mannequin shape, then arranged food on top, using banana leaves as a background to help prevent sticking and enhance the color of the outfit.  

“Banana leaf has long been used to wrap food because it’s non-sticky, clean, and environmentally friendly. After decorating and taking pictures of the finished product, I can still enjoy the delicious cake on a piece of cake. banana leaves,” said Cong.

Pomegranate dew tea is “turned” into a luxurious and sparkling evening dress (Photo: NVCC).

With the eye-catching pomegranate dew tea that is loved by many people on summer days, Mr. Cong designs it into a luxurious, sparkling evening gown with colorful sequins.

Similarly, the pigskin cake he transformed into a plaid cup dress. He used spoons, chopsticks, knives and scissors as tools to shape the wings. Then, deftly cut each slice along the pork skin to form layers of blue and white plaid fabric.

Finally, take advantage of the characteristic softness and flexibility to curl each slice of cake to create a buoyancy, making the dress look more vivid and impressive.

The pigskin cake was transformed into a plaid dress with a busty chest (Photo: NVCC).

Cong admits, he can draw hundreds of designs a day. But creating fashion from food requires a lot of time, from creating ideas, creating, preparing ingredients, making finished products and decorating them so vividly.

“It took me a whole day, even two days to complete a dress model from a complete dish. However, after the collection was “released” and everyone praised me, I was very happy because of the quality. The body shows the love of fashion in the dishes,” said Nguyen Minh Cong.

Cong and his parents happily made a collection at home (Photo: NVCC).

When Mr. Cong revealed the idea of ​​​​creating a skirt from cakes, his parents were very excited to support their son enthusiastically. His mother helped him cut banana leaves for the background, his father became a video camera assistant, finding ingredients for processing.

With jackfruit leaf cake, he designed it into a princess dress with a deep neckline. He thoroughly kneaded the rice flour, then rolled it thinly onto each jackfruit leaf, after the cake is steamed, it will create a textured chiffon-like ribbed layer.

Jackfruit leaf cake dress (Photo: NCCC).

The boy from Vinh Long shared that although he is a designer, he also loves to make cakes, so being able to reconcile his passion and hobby makes him very happy. Therefore, this epidemic season, instead of sitting idle, he always tinkers and thinks of new ideas to experience while relieving stress and satisfying his interests.

“In the process of making the dresses, my mother supported me and told me many stories about cakes to better understand the folk cakes of my homeland,” shared Minh Cong.

Sticky rice cake skirt (Photo: NVCC).

Cong said that his childhood was attached to rustic dishes, so he wanted to come here to introduce the cuisine of his homeland to domestic and international friends. Because, he realizes that Vietnamese cuisine is very rich, especially the rustic dishes in the West of the river.

“The fashion collection from the countryside not only helps me recall my peaceful childhood, but here I want to bring the best of the homeland to reach the younger generation and widely promote the country’s cuisine.” “, Minh Cong confided.

Tassel skirt made from tapioca silkworm cake (Photo: NVCC).

A five-tiered evening gown in five colors, designed from tassel threads. The highlight of the dress model is the ombre that changes from dark to light, and the “3D pattern” is white grated coconut fiber.

When he “turned” Banh Beo into a skirt, Mr. Cong cut it into small triangles, layered on top of each other to create a yellowfin, lined with a layer of green beans. In another costume model, he has two layers of blue and white pleated cake, sprinkled with coconut and green beans, creating the feeling of a dress with rhinestones.

Cong’s favorite pancake dress (Photo: NVCC).

Among the models of dresses made from left cakes, Cong’s favorite is the Banh Xeo dress model with the body shape, made from layers of yellow cake, mixed with slices of lettuce, herbs, and bean sprouts with the skirt. .

Cong shared that his parents really liked this idea because it was not only close but also recreated the beautiful childhood and youth memories of his parents. In addition, the collection also contributes to promoting the homeland’s cuisine, which is inherently rich and unique.

“When life is chaotic, time passes quickly can blur everything and if we don’t hold on to it, those memories will gradually be forgotten. Perhaps, the last quarantine period is an opportunity for me. “slowly living” next to his family, looking back at the simple and happy moments of his family”, Mr. Minh Cong expressed. Follow Dan Tri