Telling the story of Vietnam's embroidery heritage.

HNN - The exhibition titled "HER-ITAGE - Restructuring Traditional Embroidery," held in late September, left many beautiful emotions and impressions on tourists and people in Hue regarding wedding dresses that carry cultural stories. At the exhibition, viewers could witness firsthand the delicate, creative, and imaginative carving, inlaying, and cutting techniques of traditional Vietnamese embroidery art, displayed on vibrant wedding dress motifs, including those from the Hue imperial court.

Designer Nguyen Quynh Anh

Hue Today Weekend had a conversation with designer Nguyen Quynh Anh, Founder of the Lecia Bridal wedding dress brand and Creative Director of the HER-ITAGE Project, about her journey of drawing inspiration from embroidery art and the beauty of heritage through the HER-ITAGE project, with the aspiration to bring traditional culture into the contemporary flow.

Sharing about the beginning of her story of bringing Vietnamese embroidery heritage to wedding dresses, Quynh Anh excitedly said:

The HER-ITAGE project is a unique journey to restructure heritage and redefine the relationship of women to traditional values. The project name is a subtle combination of "Her" (woman) and "Heritage," signifying both the celebration of the modern woman and the appreciation of heritage. In the world of Lecia Bridal, "Her" symbolizes the modern woman, possessing a global mindset while maintaining a deep connection to her cultural roots. HER-ITAGE goes beyond preservation; it's a way to integrate Vietnamese embroidery into contemporary life through wedding dress fashion .

One design in the collection is inspired by the architecture and motifs of the Hue imperial palace.

HER-ITAGE was born from the concern that the heritage of Vietnamese embroidery is facing the risk of fading away over time. I believe that the value of a heritage is only truly preserved when it can coexist with life today. Therefore, HER-ITAGE aims to integrate Vietnamese embroidery into contemporary life through wedding dresses – a product that is both symbolic and closely associated with the most important moments in a person's life. Through each stitch, the wearer not only feels the beauty but also touches upon the cultural story.

Why did Quynh Anh choose Hue as the first place to tell the story of Vietnamese embroidery heritage through her wedding dress designs?

Hue has long been one of the cradles of Vietnamese handicrafts, especially royal embroidery. But more than that, Hue possesses a very unique spirit: elegance, tranquility, and profoundness – and this is precisely the spirit that Lecia wants to convey.

Furthermore, I witnessed integrated development while maintaining its roots when I returned to Hue for tourism this year and interacted with the young people of Hue. Therefore, Hue is the perfect setting to vividly portray the project's message about a journey to bring traditional values ​​to life in the modern era.

Many viewers were impressed by the exquisite embroidery techniques recreated in a modern language on wedding dresses at the "HER-ITAGE - Restructuring Traditional Embroidery" exhibition. What traditional embroidery techniques were used and creatively adapted to be incorporated into this collection of Vietnamese embroidered wedding dresses in such a complete way?

Lecia deciphers traditional embroidery into three core elements: technique, materials, and rules. From there, Lecia selects some elements to retain while modifying others to suit modern language. For example, instead of using traditional embroidery threads, we experimented with threads made from laser-cut fabric, hemp, and raw silk, or changed the embroidery rules from short, even, repeating stitches to long, irregular, and creative stitches.

HER-ITAGE goes beyond simply preserving traditional embroidery; it's also about integrating Vietnamese embroidery into contemporary life through wedding dress fashion.

By reprogramming these three elements and combining them with other handcrafted techniques such as 3D flower making, embellishment, laser cutting, relief work, and inlay, Lecia creates a completely new look based on the core of traditional embroidery. One of the keywords that defines Lecia's aesthetic is "simplicity." After the transformation process, the details are subtly and sufficiently placed close together so that viewers can appreciate the art form while still feeling familiar. The ultimate goal is to spread Vietnamese embroidery to the masses, not just a small group, thereby preserving traditional values ​​while remaining relevant to modern life.

In the wedding dress collection displayed at the exhibition, many motifs were inspired by the architecture and imperial patterns of Hue. To incorporate these motifs into the wedding dresses, Quynh Anh and her team must have spent a great deal of time researching and designing.

In the collection, some designs are inspired by the architecture and motifs of Hue. The biggest challenge was ensuring authenticity and originality, without arbitrarily altering these elements. The challenge was to harmonize traditional elements with the language of global aesthetics, as Lecia serves both domestic and international clients. This process required meticulous attention to detail, thorough research, and creativity to both preserve the spirit of the culture and create sophisticated, modern, and accessible fashion designs.

Quynh Anh, could you share a memorable experience from your journey of bringing Vietnamese embroidery "heritage" to wedding dress fashion?

One memory I'll never forget is the Mini Show on the Hueritage Royal Boat in Hue. While the event was underway, it suddenly started raining. Normally, rain is the biggest concern for outdoor events, but that day the rain became a special moment. The rain cast a poetic beauty over the space – both romantic and tranquil. That moment not only provided an unforgettable experience for the guests but also became a cherished memory for the entire team.

According to Quynh Anh, has the journey of bringing Vietnamese embroidery out of the realm of preservation and into contemporary life been successful so far?

To date, I still can't say I'm completely satisfied, because this is only the beginning of a long journey. Bringing Vietnamese embroidery into contemporary life cannot be measured in just a few collections; it requires many more steps to truly prove its value. What I hope for most is that the project can continue to receive support and encouragement, so that the essence of Vietnamese craftsmanship can be widely disseminated, and so that Vietnamese people can proudly choose products "Created and Crafted in Vietnam"—products that possess creative and cultural value—instead of just being "Made in Vietnam."

In the future, I envision Lecia's embroidered product lines becoming a signature brand in the international market. Beyond wedding dresses, I aspire to create many more collections, expanding our reach beyond borders, to spread the beauty of Vietnamese heritage in a contemporary, minimalist style while retaining its depth and unique character.

Thank you, Quynh Anh!

“It takes 3-5 months, sometimes even a year, to embroider a wedding dress, depending on the amount of detail. For the wedding dresses in this first collection, we have to combine hand embroidery and layered embroidery techniques so that the embroidered patterns look vivid, like 3D images. That means we have to combine traditional and modern embroidery. This is a creative and meticulous process, requiring great skill and effort in embroidering wedding dresses, something that, to my knowledge, no other place can currently achieve.”

Embroidery artist Phung Thi Vui

Source: https://huengaynay.vn/van-hoa-nghe-thuat/ke-chuyen-di-san-theu-viet-158900.html