Vietnam International Fashion Week highlights up-cycled designs

"ReFashion", the theme of this year's fashion week, from May 26-29 in Ho Chi Minh City, captured the audience's attention with 1,000 designs made from recycled materials that adhere to sustainable fashion trends around the globe.

The event conveyed the message of limiting fast fashion production to protect the environment, avoiding waste and emissions, and directing people to a thrifty, healthy lifestyle that prioritizes life quality.

Model Anh Thu struts the runway in a dress made from recycled plastic by designer Hoang Minh Ha. Photo courtesy of MultiMedia

Designers like Vo Cong Khanh, Adrian Anh Tuan, Hoang Quyen, Hoang Minh Ha, Ly Giam Tien, Nguyen Tien Truyen and many others up-cycled fabrics made from oyster shells, lotus fibers, coffee grounds and recycled plastic bottles to make moisture-wicking, heat-permeable, breathable, quick-drying, anti-static and UV protection dresses, and evening gowns.

When talking about the material creation process, Khanh shared that the oyster shells are collected from farms and dried before being ground into powder and rolled into small balls similar to polyester. The balls are melted to create fibers, which are spun and woven into fabric.

Meanwhile, there are five stages involved in the production of coffee fabric. The processed coffee beans are roasted at temperatures above 200 degrees Celsius and later ground, then mixed with polymers before being weaved into fabric.

Designs made from up-cycled fabrics. Photo courtesy of MultiMedia

Many global fashion houses have also incorporated natural or recycled materials in their Spring Summer 2022 collections.

Stella McCartney pioneered the use of grape waste from Italian wineries in leather bags. Chloe works with Gee's Bend Quilters, a small community of black women in Alabama who make clothes out of cotton blankets and discarded fabric.

Sustainable and eco-friendly fashion is the next big trend, according to Vogue.

Minh Trang, 20, from Hanoi University of Industrial Fine Arts expressed her admiration for Adrian Anh Tuan and Linh San's collection, which featured outstanding color patches and modestly sexy cuts.

"This year's fashion week has a very meaningful message," she said, " It helps future designers learn and change their thinking about fashion in order to protect the environment."

Hoang Quan, a 25-year-old architect from HCMC, admires Vo Cong Khanh's designs for their visually stimulating textured fabric.

"I attended all four nights of the fashion week, not missing a single show because it's been too long since I felt like going to see fashion without worrying about the epidemic," he explained.

However, the event still received some backlash from the public for having lengthy shows. Meanwhile, some models made mistakes on the runways like straying from the music and lacking emotion when cat-walking.

Models Thanh Hang (L) and Vo Hoang Yen during Vietnam International Fashion Week 2022. Photo courtesy of MultiMedia

Many designers still pick well-known models like Thanh Hang and Vo Hoang Yen as vedettes.

"Long-time models, I believe, have their own charms when performing. However, we need new and fresh faces to bring more excitement to the local fashion scene," Mai Anh from HCMC commented.