Vietnam's high-end fashion targets Chinese market

At the Shanghai Fashion Week (SHFW), held from Oct. 9-19 in Shanghai, several Vietnamese brands participated in runway shows, including Hacchic and Sixdo, while others showcased their collections at its tradeshows, such as Linh Nga and Joli Poli.

Additionally, the Xcommons Trade Fair, held in Kunshan, Jiangsu province, attracted 10 Vietnamese brands, namely DANG HAI YEN, KHAAR, Decode House, Onon Made, Le Art, Emwear, Briller, Larmes, Emwear, and Valenciani, marking a significant step for Vietnamese fashion on the international stage.

Designer Dinh Thị Phuong Thao (stage name Linh Nga) stated that with a population of over 1.4 billion, China represents a massive fashion market, offering abundant business opportunities for Vietnamese brands.

Following Australia and the U.S., China is the third country where the brand Sixdo has chosen to showcase its new collection. Its CEO Huy Can emphasized that China is a major market in the global fashion industry, with most of the world's leading brands already present here.

Designer Tra Linh of Hacchic remarked that Vietnamese designers' creations are causing a significant "buzz" in the Chinese market and across many Asian countries. The fact that prominent Chinese stars such as Gillian Chung, Fan Bingbing, Esther Yu, and Gulinazha have been seen wearing high-end outfits by Vietnamese designers has played a substantial role in fueling this trend.

Nguyen Thi Tuyet Mai, Deputy Secretary-General of the Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association (VITAS) and head of VITAS's Representative Office in Ho Chi Minh City, said Vietnam is currently the third-largest textile and garment exporter in the world, following China and Bangladesh. It has approximately 7,000 textile and garment enterprises employing 3 million workers, with 80% of production capacity dedicated to globally renowned brands, primarily through the B2B (business-to-business) export model.

With the boom of e-commerce, the domestic textile and fashion industry has the potential to sell directly to consumers worldwide, through the B2C (business-to-consumer) model, Mai emphasized, adding that VITAS is encouraging businesses to develop both models in parallel.

However, language and cultural differences pose significant challenges for Vietnamese brands. To remove these barriers, Vietnamese fashion businesses have been improving their foreign language skills to better communicate with customers and negotiate effectively with partners.

This effort enables them to develop brand marketing strategies in popular social media platforms like Weibo and Douyin while also accessing sales channels on China's major e-commerce platforms.