【wolfsburg – leverkusen】Ly Thi Vien Thong & the collection

Vien Thong,wolfsburg – leverkusen former student of the College of Fine Art received an award at the 2019 National Exhibition of Applied Fine Art.

The 2019 National Exhibition of Applied Fine Art (October, 2019) had 568 works by 299 artists from 25 cities and provinces registering the exhibition and 280 entries by 189 artists were selected to exhibit. Notably, the most impressive entry was by a newly graduate, Ly Thi Vien Thong.

Unlike other designers, Vien Thong was inspired from “Nghe(‘dragon-headed lion’) and the royal patterns during the Nguyen dynasty” combined with the modern Urban style to create the fashion collection “REPLY.” In the collection, the former student of Hue College of Fine Art (2014 – 2019) used of truc-chiart to process the materials as well as embroidery and beading to highlight its innovation and uniqueness but still catch up with the world fashion trends.

A design in Vien Thong’s collection

Underlying the collection is a humane idea. According to the collection designer, young people today have the tendency to be ignorant about the history and ancestral achievements. This aspires her to connect the past with the present as a response to the oblivion.

“The integration of the mascot nghe(‘dragon-headed lion’) into the Nguyen royal patterns with various emotions highlighted the ever-lasting luxury that has been preserved. The idea about historical tradition was put in practice in a youngster-friendly modern dynamic style in order to better spread the message. Moreover, I would like to introduce to the public the Vietnamese mascot nghe(‘dragon-headed lion’) instead of the unicorn, dragon or phoenix as in many other designers’ collections,” explained Vien Thong.

Vien Thong and her collection REPLY

The National Applied Fine Art Exhibition, which is held every five years, is a platform for many artists and craftspeople, while Vien Thong is a new fashion design graduate. It is, thus, plausible that her collection REPLY, a graduation blueprints, drew attention from the judges. The collection proved to be a marvel.

Vien Thong explained that the collection had novelty as it flouted the conventions, so it took much time, especially when the material was manually processed through stages with different techniques such as truc-chiart, embroidery and beading to form a new type of material.

As art requires prudent research, Vien Thong spent much time observing, examining the characteristics of nghe(‘dragon-headed lion’) and royal patterns, as well as collecting and reviewing, analyzing and evaluating documents about them before actually design the collection.

“To prepare for the graduation blueprints of a fashion collection, I examined the previous collections to find out my own new idea and avoid a repetition. After the review of history, I then looked into the features in order to sketch out the appropriate design,” said the twenty-three-year-old owner of the collection.

Mr. Vo Quang Phat (M.A), Deputy Head of the Department of Applied Fine Art, the College of Fine Art, Hue University, had beautiful compliments for the collection REPLY. He pointed out that Vien Thong managed to integrate the traditional values of the national culture into the modern fashion; especially, the use of truc-chiart has made the uniqueness.

According to Vo Quang Phat, it is not difficult for an experienced artist to have a convention-breaking and creative idea, but it is a big deal for a new graduate. It was a less-preferred challenge. Vien Thong was highly commended because she dared to take up this challenge.

The prize was the happiness for a new graduate, but according to Vien Thong, it was a motivation for her continual endeavor and creativity.

Story: HUU PHUC– Photos: Provided by the figure