The book launch ceremony of The Legend of Vietnamese Ao Dai at the Front Hall - Temple of Literature - Hanoi . (Photo in the article: NVCC)
Looking for a character to… “play” with
50 characters touching the emotions of beauty by author Do Lan Huong. They include female leaders, scientists , businesswomen, artists, teachers, soldiers and outstanding female intellectuals and female workers from all over the country. Because I knew Ms. Huong when I just graduated, I understand her personality: If she likes it, she will go out and take pictures even though she doesn't know if the story will be as successful as her initial excitement or not.
The trips and trips, just like that, following the emotions and the will to see beauty, the beauty of talent, the beauty of character, the beauty of the tanned cheeks of traditional fish sauce artisans, or with the blazing sun searching for sand color in the salty sea, remembering the wind from the Saigon River soothing the scene of women in the industrial park when work ends... All the sounds of life cannot escape the observing eyes of Do Lan Huong.
Do Lan Huong blended into the crowd to find each moment, some characters were only given 15 minutes. Only those rare 15 minutes had to capture a vivid photo moment for a character. And so, when the phone rang to confirm the schedule, she was on her way. She said that throughout the two years, there were characters who made appointments to take photos but refused the moment, some did not believe that anyone would still go that far until they were immersed in the beauty that they had never seen themselves like that. Seeing the character's beautiful smile, the person who pressed the button felt relieved.
Each character has a different perspective, a different professional personality, a different age. Professional reflexes must be quick to build the idea of each character - with a backpack heavy with equipment of all kinds of cameras and sometimes a mobile studio in the cold weather of the Northern winter.
“Playing with photos” is a spontaneous moment. When the character agrees, regardless of the weather, it must be done. The flights from North to South, the characters also have different tastes and interests, and the way the photographer exploits so that the photos are a reportage of their lives. “Hundreds of expenses out of pocket are zero, sometimes it is very discouraging. I am also a woman, I want to be beautiful, I want to be graceful but I am immersed in the career of “saving moments for future generations”, so if I am selfishly beautiful for myself today, where will I get the “Legend of Vietnamese Ao Dai”. The legend of the beauty of Vietnamese women is like the deep, boundless sea”, Do Lan Huong confided.
Author Do Lan Huong (far right cover) and writer Kieu Bich Hau (middle).
“My mother encouraged me to play photography”
Lan Huong said that her mother was a very good cook, very capable, always busy with housework and participating in the militia. In the family, she was both gentle and strict in raising her children. “Those days when my mother carried a bundle of cassava rice and walked from Phat Diem, Ninh Binh to Hoang Hoa, Thanh Hoa, crossing Len bridge during the fierce days of bombs and bullets, then she met a strong young man from the guerrilla team and took her across the river on a raft. Fate brought them together from that day. My mother gave birth to nine children and all of them were successful. The image of my mother's hard work made her appear frequently in my photos. It was like a debt of love and regret that I wanted to repay my mother when she encouraged me to become a photojournalist.”
The female photographer said that it was her mother who encouraged and motivated her passion for the job. Her mother often advised that being a woman in journalism, especially photojournalism, is not easy, she must be braver than many other women, must be strong to carry the equipment, must sacrifice many pleasures, must accept sunburned skin, must dress simply but beautifully for the job. “At that time, when I was young, I only thought my mother was too strict. But later I understood my mother, simple beauty helps me to integrate easily, to be loved easily, it makes my job much more favorable. And above all, my mother always wants me to be safe, not to be too noticed. My mother's sophistication gradually permeated me, about the image, the image of a small but extraordinary Vietnamese woman. From there, my dream of a Vietnamese woman burned and was expressed through the book "Legend of Vietnamese Ao Dai", Do Lan Huong was moved.
Ao dai and women
At the book launch ceremony, People's Artist Tam Chinh, a legend of the Vietnamese circus industry, also a character in this special book, shared his joy and pride in bringing the quintessence of Vietnamese culture to the world through the ao dai. People's Artist Tam Chinh said: "Wherever he goes, countries still praise Vietnamese circus performers for wearing beautiful ao dai. I thought that circus performers would not have to have a slim waist, but I think the ao dai is so beautiful."
Colonel, journalist Trinh Tung Lam, Deputy Director of the Military Radio and Television Center, confided about her feelings when wearing the soft ao dai instead of the solemn military uniform and how the ao dai helped her honor the delicate, gentle, yet strong and heroic beauty of Vietnamese female soldiers in the new era.
Roundtable exchange of the Legend of Vietnamese Ao Dai.
Writer and translator Kieu Bich Hau shared the moment of walking in a brilliant ao dai in Italy when receiving the prestigious "Lifetime for Culture" Award in August 2025. She affirmed the role of ao dai as a "cultural ambassador". In addition, Master Bui Thi Thanh Huong - Chairwoman of the Board of Directors of Vimeco International Education System, founder of Ao dai Huong Queen and poet, painter and musician Bang Ai Tho also shared their inspirational stories when wearing ao dai in their private stories.
Artist Do Lan Huong shared when taking photos of these special characters: “Behind the ao dai are the talented qualities of Vietnamese women, expressing gratitude to Vietnamese women during wartime as well as peacetime. Because being a Vietnamese woman during wartime is extremely harsh, in peacetime she has to take care of both housework and national affairs. Therefore, Vietnamese women are graceful and fresh when wearing an ao dai.”
The launching event of the photo book “Legend of Vietnamese Ao Dai” by Do Lan Huong reminded me of Vo Phien’s essay about the Ao Dai. He said that the two flaps of the Ao Dai of Vietnamese women fluttering in the wind are a symbol of a peaceful homeland: “The light flaps of the Ao Dai fluttering in the wind make even the heaviest, most clumsy body appear graceful”.
Each person has an adventure, passion, and commitment. Outsiders sometimes superficially observe and say why that person or that person does something that is expensive and time-consuming... but for artists who have a "crazy blood", playing with photos, creating, and finding characters is happiness. In this chaotic, pragmatic world, being able to express one's personality is a lucky thing. Do Lan Huong has done it!
Photographer Do Lan Huong, born in 1968 in Thanh Hoa, is known for her expertise in fashion and art photography. She devoted all her heart, research and creativity throughout the three years 2023 - 2025 to make the book. Before that, she worked at Thoi Trang Tre magazine in the early 1990s, where she contributed to discovering and working with many famous models in Hanoi such as Vu Cam Nhung, Thuy Hang, Thuy Hanh.
Her lens has always been commented to have a special favor for the beauty of Hanoi girls. She was also a representative of Vietnam to attend the International Young Photographers Conference in Singapore in 2002, displaying photos of traditional costumes such as yếm đào (traditional Vietnamese dress) and khan moc (crow-beak scarf).
The book “Legend of Vietnamese Ao Dai” is the result of 3 years of research and creation by Do Lan Huong. With more than 30 years of experience in the arts, she has used her lens to portray 50 outstanding female characters who are constantly contributing to the development of the country.
Source: https://baophapluat.vn/nu-nhiep-anh-gia-va-cuoc-phieu-luu-choi-anh.html
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