Cong Tri’s reputation rises as international stars shine in his designs

By Hoang Nguyen   August 4, 2019 | 05:00 am PT
An increasing number of international celebrities choosing Cong Tri outfits for glamorous occasions have boosted the Vietnamese designer’s reputation.

After the 41-year-old designer made his mark in the domestic fashion scene almost 20 years ago, the designer has gone from strength to strength, trailblazing to international renown in ways no Vietnamese designer has done so far.

His growing stature on the international fashion scene is best exemplified the growing number of international celebrities, especially Hollywood stars, choosing to wear his creations on important occasions and on the praise that haute couture magazines have lavished on his work, be it an elaborate dress with all the trimmings or just an oversized shirt.

Here’s a collection of some of the celebrities who have favored Cong Tri’s work over the last few years.

Rihanna was one of the first celebrities to choose Cong Tri’s creations. In July 2017, the Barbados-born singer wore an oversized white collar shirt in an ad campaign for famous shoe brand Manolo Blahnik. The shirt came from Cong Tri’s 2017 spring/summer collection named Em Hoa. The collection was praised by Vogue, who called it "deeply heartfelt".

Cong Tri’s stock rises as stars take a shine to his designs (HOLD)

It is singer Katy Perry perhaps who has done the most to boost Cong Tri’s international profile by choosing many of his outfits on her tours and music videos.

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Katy used three of  Tri’s customized designs on her Witness World Tour in 2017. The first one was a crop top with white and black checked bell-bottomed trousers. The second was a black leather bodysuit with polka dots boots and the third a glowing, asymmetrical dress embellished with crystals.

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In October 2018, Katy Perry uploaded a selfie on her Instagram account, wearing a white jumpsuit with stylized shoulders and a V-cut on the chest that she ordered from Cong Tri. She also tagged Cong Tri in the photo. The post got over 1.1 million likes and thousands of comments.

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Two months later, Katy Perry used a Cong Tri dress, a gorgeous blue affair, in the music video for her song Immortal Flame.

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In February this year, Katy gave a shout out to Vietnam by wearing a green ao dai made by Cong Tri for German record producer Zedd’s music video.

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Another American singer, Gwen Stefani delivered some festive cheer for the Vietnamese designer, choosing his design for her Christmas show in December 2017. He shared the image of Gwen wearing his creation, a glittering red and silver bodysuit with customized left shoulder, on his Facebook page.

And at the Oscars this year, Cong Tri’s made his presence felt with three celebrities using his creations. Actress Kate Bosworth chose an elegant golden gown made with a mesh fabric adorned with crystals. It took seven people 200 hours just to attach the crystals.

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Victoria Secret supermodel Josephine Skriver selected a smoky grey, see through voile gown for the Oscars party. The gown had been presented at the New York Fashion Week. It took six people 120 hours to make the gown. Actress Katherine McNamara went for the party in a black dress with a stylized right shoulder.

On her two-month Phoenix tour of Europe and America, British singer Rita Ora used two of Cong Tri’s designs on the stage. Ora came to know of Cong Tri after he presented his collection at the New York Fashion Week 2019 and contacted him to design the two outfits for her. It took him just three days to complete the outfits.

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The first was a combination between a corset with puffed sleeves and a colorful printed, short fringe dress, and the second one was a sexy red jump suit with a bold cut on the chest.

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Just this month, global diva Beyoncé wore a customized yellow dress by Cong Tri for the premiere of Disney’s The Lion King in London. The outfit attracted plenty of media attention. The dress, made of crushed metallic organza fabric, has an asymmetrical neckline, one off-the-shoulder sleeve and a triangle cut-out on the chest.

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Cong Tri is a member of the Asian Couture Federation. The 40-year-old has attended leading fashion events in Italy, the U.K. and Japan.

He made his debut at the New York Fashion Week this February, becoming the first Vietnamese designer to do so. His collection was covered by fashion magazine Vogue and received acclaim.

 
 
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