The vibrant life of brocade

Next to the brocade weaving frame. Photo: Le Ngoc

I was overwhelmed by the beauty of brocade patterns when I walked into the Y Ty market ( Ha Giang ). There, everyone was wearing traditional costumes. The market was ablaze with vibrant colors against the gray-white background of rain and thick fog.

The backs of the loom

After a while of observing, I gradually distinguished the costumes of each ethnic group. The traditional costume of the H'mong people has many colorful patterns, the costume of the Red Dao people is equally outstanding with two tones of red and black. The costume of the Ha Nhi people is like quiet brush strokes on a colorful painting with dark blue and black.

Coming to Sa Pa, I met an old Dao woman sitting on the street corner sewing patterns on square pieces of fabric, I had the opportunity to learn more about the patterns of the ethnic groups here. On the second floor of Sa Pa market - where the H'mong and Red Dao people gather - they sell handmade brocade products.

When it comes to brocade, everyone thinks of Sapa with its small market corner and the image of women carrying children on their backs or children following each other on the street inviting tourists to buy brocade products.
Ha Giang also has Lung Tam Cooperative - a gathering place for H'mong women to preserve and develop the traditional linen weaving craft. Here, there are many brocade patterns designed in a modern, creative style, with high applicability.

Stories of life in traditional costumes. Photo: Le Trong Khang

The process of hand-weaving linen goes through 41 steps, including: sowing seeds, harvesting flax plants, peeling fibers, spinning, connecting fibers, spinning, weaving, washing, drying... requiring time and a lot of effort.

The primitive weaving machines under the afternoon sunlight looked as beautiful as a movie scene. Perhaps, art tries its best to truly reflect the beauty of simple everyday things. Fortunately, I was able to witness the workers working hard at the looms without having to buy a movie ticket.

Cong Don village, Zuoi commune, Nam Giang district is considered the cradle of traditional brocade weaving of the Co Tu people in Quang Nam province. My Nghiep village (Ninh Phuoc district) is a traditional brocade weaving village that has existed for more than 4 centuries of the Cham community in Ninh Thuan.

Ha Ri village (Vinh Hiep commune, Vinh Thanh district) is a place that still preserves many cultural features of the Bana people, including the traditional brocade weaving craft. Many small dots on the brocade map of Vietnam are preserved through layers of time by the thin backs of Vietnamese women.

Extending the life of brocade

Brocade is used by many Vietnamese designers in their clothing designs, creating unique features. One prominent name is designer Minh Hanh. She brought to Paris, the fashion capital of the world, a collection called “Breath from the mountains and forests of Vietnam” including designs of Ao Dai and contemporary costumes based on brocade materials of the Mong and Co Tu ethnic groups.

Extending the vibrant life of brocade through modern fashion. Photo: AVANA

There is also the fashion collection “Red Silk” by designer Thuy Nguyen that has received much attention with costumes inspired by Thai ethnic folk tales. The main materials used for this collection are brocade, brocade, lace, satin… which are skillfully combined.

Recently, the Soul of Ethnic collection by designer Tran Thien Khanh, inspired by the brocade patterns of the H'mong people, was introduced at Fashion Art Toronto - part of Toronto Fashion Week in Canada.

Each designer, with their own artistic perspective, has created unique fashion works. There are also many designers in the world who favor brocade in their creations.

The story of Aldegonde Van Alsenoy - a Belgian designer living and working in Central Vietnam with the brand AVANA is a typical story of pursuing the “slow fashion” model. In contrast to the “fast fashion” industry, AVANA has creative clothing designs handcrafted from brocade. Each design is unique.

There is an American who founded the brand Ethnotek - specializing in selling travel bags with simple designs, focusing on functionality but with a unique highlight which is brocade patterned fabrics. Jake Orake - an American man who once wandered around Vietnam, fell in love with the brocade of ethnic minorities and came up with the idea of ​​doing business with brocade products.

Through Ethnotek, we learned about the non-profit organization Tip Me (tip-me.org) founded by German Helen Deacon. This organization aims to connect craftsmen in many countries around the world with consumers for the purpose of spreading gratitude.

Tip Me helps families of artisans raise funds to repair motorbikes, pay school fees for their children or buy food for their families. Companies like Ethnotek can send money from product sales to support Tip Me's operating costs and consumers can send money directly to the artisans they care about and want to help.

If the traditional brocade weaving industry were a girl, she would still be living a brilliant life, despite the ups and downs she has gone through. I believe that there will be more and more people who “love her wholeheartedly”...

Source: https://baoquangnam.vn/doi-song-ruc-ro-cua-tho-cam-3143764.html