Earlier this year, Phuong Anh (Ho Chi Minh City) held a wedding with her Indian husband. The couple chose to wear traditional Vietnamese costumes on their big day. Phuong Anh shared more about this decision: “I held two weddings with my husband. When we held the wedding in India, we wore traditional Indian costumes and found it very interesting. When we were in Vietnam, I also wanted to choose traditional costumes so that my husband could understand more about the country's culture.”
Phuong Anh is a typical example of the trend of wearing traditional costumes on wedding days of young people today. A generation has begun to pay more attention and want to experience traditional culture, after periods of disruption.
Young people are increasingly interested in traditional costumes.
Understanding culture is understanding yourself
Vietnam is a country that has gone through many periods of cultural integration, from Indochina culture, Eastern European culture, Hong Kong culture or recently the Korean cultural wave. Young people today have the opportunity to access cultures through the internet and travel. But the more they learn and travel, the more they realize that they do not fully understand the culture of their birthplace. Then gradually, they return to the first traditional expressions such as costumes.
Mr. Nguyen Duc Loc, founder of the Y Van Hien traditional costume brand since 2017, shared: “When young people go abroad to exchange, study or work and see many traditional costumes from countries around the world. They wonder about culture, want to find out who they are and what their country's traditions are like? After a period of research, many people love and choose traditional costumes as wedding costumes.”
The traditional costume movement started early, many professional designers were also inspired by ancient materials. Traditional costumes only really reached a wide audience of young people through the series of events celebrating the 1,000th anniversary of Thang Long - Hanoi in 2010 and the work "A Thousand Years of Clothing and Hats" by author Tran Quang Duc in 2013.
The traditional costume movement started early, and many professional designers were also inspired by it.
Then around 2017, the use of Vietnamese traditional costumes for weddings also started to take off in the community of young people who love traditional culture. But it was not until mid-2020 that this movement began to spread strongly. had a certain influence in society. Up to now, the use of traditional costumes in weddings has become no longer strange.
Mr. Tran Huy Khoi, founder of the Da La Xuat Phuc traditional costume brand, also shared: “Traditional costumes can be made from many materials, especially Asian materials such as brocade and silk, which help to highlight the soft, elegant beauty of the wearer. Traditional costumes for weddings come in many types, depending on the period, there will be different ways of dressing. Couples who want to dress in the most authentic style of the Nguyen Dynasty can choose to wear Ao Tac and Nhat Binh because these two types of costumes are ceremonial costumes, so wearing them on important occasions is the most appropriate.”
Traditional costumes are divided into formal costumes, casual costumes and regular costumes. On formal occasions such as weddings, Ao Tac, Ao Nhat Binh, Ao Ngu Than with short sleeves will be preferred by young people. This is not only a way to express love for national culture but also a new way to express personality and uniqueness on the happy day.
On formal occasions such as weddings, Ao Tac, Ao Nhat Binh, and Ao Ngu Than with short sleeves are preferred by young people.
Couples can choose patterns, colors, lines, design materials, and accessories according to their personal preferences. With the trend, weddings are becoming smaller, more intimate, and more personalized. This is also the advantage of traditional costumes that young people love.
Mr. Nguyen Duc Loc added: “If customers want to wear clothes on special occasions that require many cultural elements, we will advise on standard, complete and harmonious outfits such as scarves. For customers who want to be more modern, we can coordinate hairstyles, handbags, clogs, and modern accessories. There are also couples who want to innovate with patterns and color combinations in their style, which can still be tailored to the customer's preferences.”
Another option for a happy day
Compared to the general level of the wedding market, traditional costumes still have reasonable sewing and rental costs for young couples. Regarding rental costs, each brand will have different rental prices, but on average, a full wedding outfit including: clothes, scarves, shoes, clogs, and accompanying jewelry accessories, the price will fluctuate around 1,000,000 VND - 3,000,000 VND.
Traditional costumes are still reasonably priced for young couples.
As for costs, tailoring, printing and embroidering personalised patterns will have different prices, depending on the complexity of the finished product, which can range up to tens of millions of dong.
Mr. Nguyen Duc Loc said: “I think that nowadays, traditional costumes have many materials and are available at a reasonable price for young couples who want to experience them. There are couples who can rent two or three sets to wear during the wedding days, or have one set made for many occasions. This is also an interesting highlight, not following the standard and mass-produced style like before.”
Many young people have difficulty choosing wedding dresses, so they prefer to wear traditional costumes. The loose and wide shape of traditional costumes also helps young people hide their flaws. At the same time, traditional costumes also easily create cultural harmony.
Many young people have difficulty choosing wedding dresses, so they also prefer to wear traditional costumes.
Many Vietnamese and other nationalities couples also choose traditional costumes for their weddings to find cultural similarities. In addition, foreigners in Vietnam also choose traditional costumes as a way to express their love for the country they live in. Many overseas couples also trust in buying traditional costumes from reputable brands to hold weddings far away. Thanks to the ease of wearing and cultural uniqueness, more and more customers are looking for traditional costumes in addition to Western costumes for their wedding day.
“The story is not only about wedding dresses, but also about the increasingly open thinking to find out what our costumes are? And when we go the right way, we will develop many good and beautiful things, bringing our cultural wave to international friends.” – Mr. Nguyen Duc Loc concluded.
