Nguyen Cong Tri is a visionary designer based in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Graduated with a degree in Fine Arts from the HCMC University of the Arts, he hit the fashion world in 2000 when he was awarded the New Idea Category Prize at Vietnam’s Grand Prix, with his Green Leaves fashion collection.
Vietnamese celebrities have fallen in love with his looks and the massive presence of pictures of them wearing his designs in the media have made him one of the most recognized fashion designers in Asia.
His signature aesthetic and keen eye for detail combines progressive and hand-made techniques, resulting in collections that feature laser cutting, interlacing, hand-ironed pleating, knitting and hand painting, with a particular emphasis on jewel and sequin embellishments.
"I'm Vietnamese. Vietnamese culture is always an endless source of inspiration for my collection," Cong Tri says.
He constantly develops new ways to renovate traditional materials into modern shapes, mixing Vietnamese culture with modern fashion. In 2013 he became the first Vietnamese designer to launch a house dedicated to haute couture.
Elegance, charm and mysterious Vietnamese girls identify a new idea of haute couture and overcoming the limit of creativity.
Nguyen Cong Tri Collection No.9 - "Lúa"
This collection was inspired by images of female Vietnamese farmers working diligently on the rice-fields wearing a traditional Vietnamese outfit called “ao Ba Ba”, which is associated with rural areas. This simple, loose polonaise, with a raglan sleeve, round neck and two padded pockets in the front is constructed to be comfortable for labor and working environments.
The dominant color of the collection is glossy black, mixed with deep brown tones, moss greens and goldenrod yellow. The collection features a unique Vietnamese Lanh My A silk. The techniques used include interlacing, weaving, fringing, embroidery, embellishing, and appliqué, which are used to reaffirm the traditional identity that is combined with a contemporary outlook to create a Western aesthetic.
Lanh My A silk is created from the best silk thread. It is dyed with Mac Nua fruit in a special process of dyeing that adds a small quantity each year. This is due to the difficulty of harvesting the fruit and traditional labour-intensive dyeing techniques, which can take months of dip-squeeze-drying to produce. This is now recognized as a rare material, as well as a national treasure of Vietnam.
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Nguyen Cong Tri No9 - 040
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Nguyen Cong Tri No9 - 038
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Nguyen Cong Tri No9 - 037-2
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Nguyen Cong Tri No9 - 031
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Nguyen Cong Tri No9 - 029
