Does the neckline need to be high?

Hello Mr. Tran Huy Khoi, can you introduce yourself?

Hello readers, I am Tran Huy Khoi, founder of the Da La Xuat Phuc brand. Since I was a child, I have had a passion for history. In 2012, I started researching and learning about traditional costumes. In 2019, I officially quit my job in the medical industry to open the first traditional costume brand, "The Essence of Traditional Costumes". At this time, I designed and sewed traditional costume products, both innovations and prototypes.

After the pandemic, I opened the brand “Da La Xuoc Phuc”, specializing in consulting, designing and tailoring original traditional costumes. Da La means a lot of silk in Sino-Vietnamese, and is also the proper name of a type of shirt. Xuoc Phuc means soft, elegant clothing. I also hope this is a brand that contains richness and diversity in sewing materials as well as traditional costume designs.

Why did you want to move from modernized traditional costumes to prototypes?

The first reason is because I am very passionate about traditional costumes. Sometimes I feel sad when I see many young Vietnamese people taking artistic photos, taking wedding photos in traditional costumes of other countries such as Japanese Kimono, Korean Hanbok but only a few wear Vietnamese traditional costumes. I really want more people to know about Vietnamese traditional costumes.

Secondly, there are many brands on the market that make innovative traditional costumes, but very few that make original traditional costumes. Innovation has many advantages, but when people do not know the standards and foundations, it is difficult to develop further. Designers and customers also need to understand the original products according to history before innovating in a modern style. I hope to contribute to bringing costumes so that people can understand more deeply about the culture of our country.

In your opinion, do society and young people today pay more attention to traditional costumes?

I see that young people today have a lot of interest in traditional costumes. Many young people come to order from me, although the cost of sewing is much higher than renting, but customers are willing to invest to be able to wear it for a long time. Recently, I also sponsored a fashion program for students working on traditional costumes, receiving a lot of support from the school. Besides, the trend of wearing Nhat Binh traditional costumes and Ao Tac for wedding photos is also very popular.

People are also gradually recognizing that traditional costumes are not just decorative items. Many units have ordered us to make them as gifts for international friends. I also just took photos for a couple, the wife is Vietnamese and the husband is Canadian, both of them are very excited, as well as have a love for traditional Vietnamese costumes.

Many young people think that "traditional costumes must be high up to the neck" and feel quite uncomfortable when wearing them, what do you think?

The ancient costumes worn in the past had many regulations on style, color, and pattern under the constraints of Confucianism. At that time, of course, they had to be discreet and formal, so it is natural that today's young people feel uncomfortable. We also simplified the products that were too ancient, cumbersome, and courtly such as Nhat Binh, Ao Tac, Mang Bao, Giao Linh... These products are usually only used in events and weddings.

There are also products that are extremely comfortable for the wearer, such as the Ngu Than Ao Dai, which will be promoted. The Ngu Than Ao Dai can be considered the original version of the modern Ao Dai today. Men wearing this shirt can show off their masculinity and elegance. Women wearing it are also extremely gentle, discreet, dignified and charming. The material is also made from Dui, Linen or silk to bring comfort to the wearer. We also have the ambition to make the Ngu Than Ao Dai widely known, on par with the modern Ao Dai today.

What difficulties did Mr. Khoi encounter in his journey to make prototype ancient costumes?

There are many difficulties, but there are two main ones. First, documents on ancient costume prototypes are extremely difficult to find. They are usually only found in paintings, old books, and research documents. The clothes that archaeologists find cannot be determined whether they are burial clothes or everyday clothes. For example, the Ngu Than shirt, everyone knows it has five layers, but the proportions, positions, and details of each layer require a lot of research to produce the most accurate product.

Next, high-quality silk in Vietnam is very difficult to find, and high-quality silk with ancient patterns is extremely expensive, up to a million VND per meter. A Ngu Than shirt sometimes costs from 5 to 7 meters of fabric, plus the labor cost, so the selling price will be extremely high. Currently, I still use fabrics that are cheaper but still ensure quality such as Korean Sa, Linen, and Dui. If people look to Korea and Japan, they will see that their garment industry is very developed, which has led to the spread of traditional costumes all over the world. I hope that in the future, this difficulty will be gradually overcome by cooperating with other traditional costume companies.

In your opinion, how does customers' understanding of traditional culture affect the traditional costume market?

When I work in tailoring traditional costumes, I meet many customers who have their own wishes. Sometimes they want short sleeves, sometimes they want waist-cinching or they want non-Vietnamese patterns... There are customers overseas who ask me to tailor traditional costumes but send them Chinese patterns. For such customers, I often explain to them more about traditional costumes, as well as culture. If the customer refuses or still makes requests that are too difficult, I have to refuse.

I also want customers to understand more about traditional costumes so that people in the profession like me can create the best products. In the future, Da La Xuat Phuc will also have campaigns to bring traditional costumes into people's daily lives, such as meetings.

Before ending, is there anything else you would like to share with Travellive readers?

Da La Xuong Phuc's slogan is "Vietnamese traditional costumes, wear to love". Love here means loving the costumes more, loving the unique culture of our nation. Wearing traditional costumes is not really something big and bold as the media often says, like preserving... It's simply wearing costumes to make yourself love the beauty of Vietnam more. If people take the time to learn, they will see that traditional costumes are as beautiful as those of other countries and in the future will also attract the attention of international friends.

Thank you.

April Ha