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Titled "Stranger Vietnamese?!? - 1000 Years of Vietnamese Fashion," Vietnam Centre's new project has attracted thousands of views and interest from young people, amidst the increasing appearance of traditional Vietnamese clothing on various art channels, from painting and music to film. Following its release, the video garnered significant comments from both domestic and international viewers.
For over 3 minutes, traditional Vietnamese costumes from over 1000 years of history, from the Ly, Tran - Early Le, Later Le, and Nguyen dynasties, are recreated, delighting viewers with familiar yet novel designs. Familiar are the gleaming black-toothed smiles "like autumn sunshine," and the five-panel, high-necked robes (the precursors of the modern ao dai). Novel are the "dynamic" short hairstyles of the Tran dynasty women and the styling that some might think could never exist in Vietnam.
Clothing from the Ly Dynasty
Therefore, Vietnam Centre decided to name the project "Stranger Vietnamese?!?". After watching this video, many people must have wondered if those figures were actually Vietnamese? And would Vietnamese people today find the clothing and smiles in the video unfamiliar?
To help those interested better understand the costumes featured in the video, the Vietnam Centre team continues to post images of each costume by period, along with the sources used in the design process.
Clothing during the Tran and Early Le dynasties
According to the Vietnam Centre group, they carried out this project based on credible historical documents such as excerpts from the Đại Việt sử ký toàn thư (Complete History of Đại Việt), Sứ Giao Châu thi tập (Collection of Poems by the Envoy of Giao Châu), Kiến văn tiểu lục (Records of Observations), and descriptions by Chu Khứ Phi... In addition, the group also consulted illustrations in paintings such as Trúc Lâm đại sĩ xuất sơn đồ (The Great Master of Trúc Lâm Leaving the Mountain), An Nam lai uy đồ sách (The Book of An Nam Coming to Power), Hoàng Thanh chức cống đồ (The Book of Hoàng Thanh's Tribute), and carvings at Độc Lôi communal house in Nghệ An...
From now until the end of January, Vietnam Centre will continue to post images of each costume along with explanations on its fanpage, aiming to provide viewers with more detailed information about each type of costume.
Clothing from the Le Trung Hung period (Northern Vietnam)
Clothing from the Le Trung Hung period (Southern Vietnam)
“When it comes to Vietnam, international friends and even many Vietnamese people seem to only know about the War and nothing else. This reality saddens us, because a vibrant national culture with a thousand-year history in Asia is defined by a war that happened not long ago.” - Quoted from the founder of Vietnam Centre. This is also the reason for the creation of Vietnam Centre and its heartfelt projects.
Clothing from the Nguyen Dynasty
Furthermore, in June 2020, Vietnam Centre launched its first project – the first bilingual book about Vietnamese traditional clothing titled “Weaving a Realm”. The book underwent a crowdfunding campaign for over six months before reaching readers, demonstrating significant interest in traditional Vietnamese culture in general and Vietnamese traditional clothing in particular.
This book provides an overview of traditional Vietnamese court attire during the Early Le Dynasty, from the most basic styles such as Giao Linh (cross-collar), Vien Linh (round collar), and Doi Kham (straight hem), to the attire of various social classes in the court, such as the Emperor's Imperial Robe and the Empress's Dich Y, etc. With each chapter focusing on a specific garment, readers are guided on a journey to explore the history of fashion from a fresh perspective, thanks to classical paintings combined with works from young but reputable artists and photographers in the field of traditional Vietnamese clothing such as Hieu Sicula, Nguyen Hoang Duong, Nguyen Hung, etc.
In a constantly changing society driven by the continuous development of science and technology, projects showcasing traditional Vietnamese culture, such as the publication "Weaving a Dynasty" or the video "Vietnamese Strangers?!? - 1000 Years of Vietnamese Traditional Clothing," are truly valuable. They help us better understand the ancient traditions of our ancestors, ensuring that these beautiful cultural values do not fade away with time.
