Fashion Issue: Western Fashion Brands coming to Vietnam

Coming back to Vietnam last summer, I have noticed that we now have had Topshop, Accessorize, Mango, FCUK, French Connection, Gucci, and the list goes on. This shows the rapid developments we are having nowadays. We used to not have all these brands although I live in the capital. Nowadays, more people have reached a position where they care about the way they look and take care of themselves a lot more compared to about 10 years ago.

However, Topshop in Vietnam is different from Topshop in England due to the differences between our lifestyle and our sense of fashion. I have noticed that Western brands when they go to Vietnam, they for sure keep their general style, though, the clothes are a little bit less daring compared to what I saw in Europe. The prices are also different obviously as in Vietnam we had to import the products. Vietnam is a developing country and I see a lot of potential as well as opportunities to build up a Fashion business here.

Internship confirmed - Third year plan

I have been offered a place at Kelly Bui as a design intern for 6 months. I think this is a great start. I will be working in Hanoi - my home town. The plan is to come back to Vietnam and start working from the summer until the end of the year before coming back to AUCB for the rest 6 months of the top-up year. That means I will not have a summer vacation but it is worth it that by the time I come back to AUCB from Vietnam to finish up my top-up year, I would have had a 6 month work experience which I think would be very helpful in my CV.

I think the internship would also help me a lot with my work during the third year. I would definitely learn a lot about designing as well as running a business. And it is a great opportunity to gain some networks in the industry in my country.

Kelly Bui

Kelly Bui is one of the top Fashion designers in Vietnam. Bui was born and raised in Vietnam before going to England and graduated from London Centre for Fashion Studies in 2005. In 2006, she started her brand 'Kelly Bui', which is now one of the biggest fashion brands in Vietnam. For a business that young, her success is remarkable. I also like her designs very much. They are feminine, glamourous and sort of sexy. I tend to follow that direction as well, I think we somewhat have the same fashion sense.

As an international Fashion student in the UK myself, I would like to be successful internationally and I think there is a lot I could learn from Kelly. I would love to have a chance to work for her in order to gain a lot of helpful experience, to learn and also to gain some networks in the industry. If I am coming back to AUCB for the top-up year, the first three months would be work placement. An option might be starting working from the beginning of summer vacation throughout the first 3 months of the top-up year. That way I would have a 6 month work experience by the time I come back to England for the top-up year.

I have sent them an email with my CV and some of my work in order to apply for an internship there in the summer. I am looking forward to receiving their answer.

Final project inspiration - Revolution

• Nude, desert-ish colour palette
• Animal camouflage: creatures whose colours & patterns help conceal & protect them
• Mysterious

Future planning

Options I am having for next year:

• Top-up year at AUCB: In order to get a proper Bachelor Degree afterwards. This option will give me the opportunity to continue and finish my education in a familiar environment. Generally I am happy with AUCB so far, therefore I would happily take this option into consideration.
• Top-up year in London: I am aiming for London College of Fashion and Central Saint Martins. They obviously have a great reputation and would definitely look good on my CV later on. However, if I got there I would have to start from 2nd Year again. Moreover, the costs in London would be higher than Bournemouth. I will give it a good thought, though, I am not sure that starting the 2nd year again is really worth it.
• Top-up year in Europe: This could be an interesting direction to consider. Having been to Denmark, I like the European atmosphere as I like travelling in general and I think it would be interesting to go to Europe again for a couple of years. At the moment I am thinking about Denmark, Italy or Germany. However, in order to move there I would like to be able to speak the language although there are English-based courses there.
• Internships: I personally think it is not too hard to get a good internship. I enjoy travelling therefore I like the idea of getting more work experience at different places. It would be very helpful as well to get different experiences in different countries in different working environments.
• Employment: This is also an option. However, I think it would be best to continue my education in order to prepare myself better before coming up with a decision of what to do and where to do it.

Design developments

I have come up with some more design ideas using the blue and the brown materials. My style is quite feminine and I think the materials really flatter it.

PPRD Group project

These are some designs of mine and the final illustration board for the group project.

Final photoshoot

The photo shoot was between just me and a model. I worked on the makeup, styling, photograph and photo touching up myself. It was rather a simple shoot, so it was not too difficult achieving my visions and ideas taking care of everything myself.

Besides designing, I enjoy working with styling and photos. I am very into hair and makeup as well. I would love to get involved in some makeup activities later on. In my opinion, it is extremely helpful to get experience in different job roles in order to challenge myself and understand myself more in terms of my abilities and interests. At the moments, I have a few preferences myself, though, I am still open to different options. I might end up doing completely different things compared to my plans at the beginning and it is not a bad thing. I would like to experience new things and explore myself in order to find out what I do best and what I like the most.

Handmade

I enjoy working with small details and I believe they can definitely make a garment look very different. Creating small unique details is the way to make everyday fashion become more interesting and personal.

Effects

Putting the dress under the sunlight, the 3D effects I wanted to achieve seemed to come out correctly. The blue was shown quite nicely under the brown, and the dress made nice movements every time the wind blew.

Making the dress

I am quite familiar with materials such as chiffon, silk, satin etc. as I have been dealing with them a lot since last year. It was also interesting having experiments with the strap of the dress. I enjoyed directly trying different things with the actual materials on the stand without having the sketches. I felt like having more freedom and that I could take my work wherever it could lead to.

Experiments with pillowcase method

Using different materials could make total differences to the garments in terms of shapes and effects. This time, instead of calico, I was using chiffons in order to achieve a soft and flowy look. By pulling the 2 corners on the front inside and upwards towards the bust, it could create an interesting effect with the layers I was planning to use.

I like the shape of the garment. It reminds me of a lotus.

Pillowcase method

The Pillowcase draping method is basically to sew 2 pieces of square fabric together, then create a neck and a bottom hole, and start creating different shapes, effects and details on the stand before making the patterns.

The pillowcase technique, in my opinion, is interesting and inspiring. It opens up many ways of draping, playing around and experiencing to create different shapes, styles and details.

I have decided to develop my garment by adapting this technique into my draping progress. Calico created a fairly hard shape and texture, though, if I used chiffon instead, it would create a complete different texture and effect.

Cutting on bias

I think every small step in garment making process could make a difference to the final garment, therefore it is important to take all the details into consideration.

Cutting on bias is a big difference compared to cutting on grain. In this case, the fabric hangs nicer on bias, therefore the effect created by the fabric is better. Changing the grain line on patterns also sometimes affects the shape of the garment.

In conclusion, cutting on bias or on grain mostly depends on the design, in other words, what the designer wants to achieve. Experiments while draping are very important and helpful in order to reach the best constructing methods.