Preserving the quintessence of Vietnamese traditional costumes from the journey of Hoa Lu Legacy

The Hoa Lu Legacy project initiated by Sinh Duoc Cooperative has chosen to journey back to the past, distilling the quintessence from the first dynasties of Vietnam to restore and develop Vietnamese traditional costumes, building a bridge to bring heritage closer to today's life.

Hoa Lu Legacy space in the early days of its establishment.

According to legend, Mrs. Nguyen Thi Sen - the wife of King Dinh Tien Hoang - is considered the founder of the tailoring profession. From the ancient land of Hoa Lu, the tailoring profession and the art of making royal costumes were formed and developed, but over time, the documents, specimens and techniques of the early periods such as the Dinh, Tien Le, Ly, Tran dynasties... gradually fell into oblivion, leaving only fragments in archaeological sites, moss-covered temples and pagodas, or in the oral memories of local people.

The brooch model recalls the history of dynasties.

With the desire to preserve and bring traditional costumes back to contemporary life, Sinh Duoc Cooperative, in collaboration with cultural and archeological researchers, has embarked on a journey to research, restore and reconstruct traditional costumes from valuable sources: research documents, ancient books, archaeological artifacts, architectural patterns at historical sites, and even folk tales.

The quintessence of Vietnamese traditional costumes has been transformed and innovated over time.

Besides restoration, creativity is also promoted to make traditional costumes a vibrant part of today's life: from "phototours" of traditional costumes at Ninh Binh heritage sites to modern applied fashion products with traditional styles or consulting and providing traditional costume solutions for traditional festivals.

The highlight of the Hoa Lu Legacy project is the combination of traditional and contemporary. Each ancient pattern, line, and style is refined and applied delicately to handicraft products, accessories, and modern costumes, thereby opening a new direction for the Vietnamese fashion industry, both rich in identity and close to the youth.

Today's Nhat Binh shirts are very diversely created by young people.

In addition, Hoa Lu Legacy's products and activities also contribute to the development of cultural tourism in Ninh Binh - the ancient capital - when visitors can wear ancient costumes, transform into historical figures, experience ancient spaces through lenses, through festivals, through every meticulous detail vividly recreated.

The project has the participation of a team of young people passionate about traditional culture, always struggling with the question: How can Vietnamese people understand and be more proud of their own heritage?

From that question, they have experienced and devoted themselves to the journey of preserving, honoring and spreading the quintessence of Vietnamese culture to the community, especially the young generation. Each work they create echoes a story, a slice of history wrapped in a deep love of culture and a desire to preserve heritage.

The ancient costume project has made many contributions to cultural events and activities of Ninh Binh in particular and the country in general.

For example, the "Uyên dương" hairpin, affectionately known as the "Đầu" hairpin, was inspired by the image of water birds on the roof tiles of ancient architecture in the ancient capital.

The hairpin recreates an ancient motif, while also conveying the soul of ancient Vietnamese life - where nature, architecture and beliefs blend in every line. It is a gentle revival of symbols that seem to have sunk into oblivion, but carry within them the intense vitality of a culture closely tied to rivers, waterfowl and a purely agricultural lifestyle.

"Mandarin duck" hairpin is very popular.

From that inspiration, "Lotus Hairpin" was born as a tribute to the sacred symbol in Vietnamese Buddhist art.

Inspired by the lotus motifs of the Tran and Le So dynasties - the brilliant dynasties of Dai Viet culture, the product has a harmonious combination of pure beauty and profound spiritual meaning. The lotus - the embodiment of compassion, purity and resilience - when depicted on the brooch is not only an aesthetic highlight, but also a gentle reminder of the noble character of the ancients.

Lotus Hairpin is modeled after the patterns on historical relics dating back to the Tran and Early Le dynasties.

Hoa Lu Legacy also recreates many ceremonial costumes, notably the ceremonial costumes of the Ly and Tran dynasties with precision in every detail: from the crown with 12 strings and 12 gems symbolizing the mandate of heaven, to the Ao Con with 12 chapters to fully recreate the majesty and the "inner emperor, outer king" ideology of the Vietnamese dynasties. The costumes contribute to recreating the memories of the dynasty and are also an affirmation of the spirit of independence and imperial identity.

Ancient costumes are restored and appear in many large-scale events.

At the end of April 2025, the Dinh Dynasty queen's costume, meticulously restored by Hoa Lu Legacy, appeared in the large-scale program "Hoa Lu Brocade". Besides its performance value, it truly brought about a return, a silent dialogue between the present and the past.

The breath of history blends with the passionate eyes of the audience, with the smoldering pride in the hearts of young people who are joining hands to preserve the Vietnamese soul.

Traditional costumes create a highlight in the journey to promote Ninh Binh tourism.

Behind each product is an elaborate, meticulous and passionate journey that the team has persistently pursued. From archaeological documents, patterns on relics, ancient books or folk legends, members begin with in-depth research to understand the cultural context, symbols and ancient manufacturing techniques. Next is the process of sketching and creating 3D designs to visualize the shape, contrast and application.

After many edits, tests and feedback from experts, the prototype is created, which may go through many more adjustments before the final product is released.

Each stage requires carefulness, delicacy and patience, because even a small mistake can destroy the original spirit of the antique - something the team always puts first in the process of heritage restoration.

The beauty of a woman in ao tu than at Bich Dong Pagoda, Ninh Binh.

Without a deep passion for traditional culture, the creative team would certainly not have been able to go all the way on this arduous journey. Just the restoration of ancient costumes and patterns was a process that faced countless difficulties: lack of original documents, errors in oral tradition, lost manufacturing techniques, and even skepticism from modern society.

According to the creative team, there were times when they spent a lot of time and effort just to research a pattern detail that had faded over the years or repeatedly edited a design just because it did not "touch the old soul". If they did not truly love it, did not worry about the question "is it possible to revive those quintessence?" then perhaps no one would have the patience to pursue it to the end.

The product is crafted very meticulously and elaborately.

Passion is a smoldering but powerful flame that guides us to persevere through every obstacle and every layer of dust of time, so that each product is not only beautiful, but also vivid and true to history.

When somewhere, old values ​​are gradually being forgotten, meaningful projects like Hoa Lu Legacy have chosen to go against the current, return to the source, cherish every small remaining trace of history to revive a part of the quintessence of Vietnamese culture.

Each product and work is the result of artistic labor, and also a tribute from today's generation to history and to the ancients who created a proud culture.

They make many people believe that when the past is understood and preserved with all the soul and aspiration, the heritage will continue to spread vitality, inspiring the present and the future. And in that journey, they are both diligently working and writing a new chapter for Vietnamese identity.

Source: https://nhandan.vn/giu-gin-tinh-hoa-co-phuc-viet-tu-hanh-trinh-cua-hoa-lu-legacy-post878692.html