HÀ NỘI — Paths under canopies of leaves in Bách Thảo (Botanical) Garden, Hà Nội, will become catwalks for the Việt Nam Fashion Week Fall Winter 2019 which will be held on March 22-24.

Following the success of the previous event, this is the second time the fashion week has been organised at the garden with the aim of bringing audiences closer to nature, said designer Minh Hạnh, founder of the Việt Nam Fashion Week which is held biannually in the Spring/Summer and Fall/Winter seasons.

“It’s the green lungs of the city. People who have lived in Hà Nội for a long time remember the Botanical Garden as the place with few changes over the decades.”

“It’s a hideaway from busy and noisy streets. Here, we can see children playing, elderly people walking, couples dating and students learning about centuries-old trees. It’s a wonderful place for a cultural event.”

Hạnh added that bringing fashion closer to nature is a trend in the global fashion industry.

“We want to eliminate the border between the stage and the collections,” she said.

“Instead of performing the designs at night, on stages with colourful lights, we choose to present the collection in the afternoon when people can enjoy and contemplate the outfits in natural light.”

Hạnh is one of 14 designers from HCM City, Huế and Hà Nội participating in the event which starts today.

Hà Nội is in the spring/summer season the designers still present fall/winter designs to follow the world fashion flow, said Hạnh.

“This year, Tokyo, Paris and Milan fashion week events took place showing fall/winter, Việt Nam is not an exception or beyond the world trend.”

"People ask me what fashion week is, it’s a good but difficult question. In my opinion, fashion week is the market. It’s a place the designers show off their products and receive the response of the audience. We are trying to make fashion week a professional event that helps boost the national fashion industry."

Spanish designer Diego Cortizas, owner of the Chula brand, said he has participated in the Việt Nam Fashion Week for many years and still finds endless inspiration with Vietnamese traditional patterns and materials.

The designers will introduce their latest collections for men, women and kids inspired by nature, traditional culture and contemporary life.

They use various materials suitable for autumn and winter such as silk, denim, brocade and wool. All of them use traditional techniques of printing and hand-embroidery to mark Vietnamese identity for their collections.

Models set to perform during the fashion week include Kim Dung, Trà Mi, Thanh Thuỷ, Thủy Tiên and Hồng Quế.  — VNS