Vietnamese fashion amid 'storm' of closures

After Catsa and Lep, the "storm" of closures and exits from the market continued to sweep away big names such as Elpis, Mot, Hnoss... showing the harshness of the Vietnamese fashion market in 2025.

Veteran brands exhausted

From mid-2024 until now, Vietnamese fashion has had about 10 names leave the local brand playground. Most of these are large brands, growing in scale and having a wide customer base. Men's fashion brand Catsa has been in business for 13 years with dozens of stores, with revenue at its peak reaching hundreds of billions of VND; Hnoss has been in business for 17 years, with 36 stores and was invested by Seedcom Group. Meanwhile, Elpis, which was loved by stars such as Ninh Duong Lan Ngoc, Tieu Vy, Ngoc Trinh..., also stopped operating after 10 years. The remaining local brands are also 5-8 years old such as Mot, The Peachy, Lep, MIEU, Lenoir, Edini...

The message “One shoe for all” of One shoe touches the hearts of young Vietnamese people

Photo: ONE

Born in 2018, Mot was once known as a brand for young people. This "Made in Vietnam" shoe brand quickly became popular thanks to its product quality and business philosophy that goes against consumerism. With the motto "One for all", the Vietnamese brand only uses one shoe style to ensure the neutrality of the shoe that anyone can wear, regardless of age or gender. Mot's minimalist fashion spirit has an even stronger influence when combined with many sustainable clothing brands such as Moriko, Tim Tay, Nhung Linen...

Closing a brilliant fashion journey, many founders openly shared the reasons why their brands had to stop. The founder of Catsa said that they decided to stop operating because they did not want to continue being caught up in the whirlwind of fast fashion. Meanwhile, the brands Lep and Edini explained that they had to stop playing because they could not keep up with the rapid changes in trends, reduce product quality to compete on price, or participate in price manipulation tricks from intermediary channels...

Edini brand closes daily fashion line to focus on traditional products such as ao dai, ao yem...

PHOTO: Edini

Find a new direction

In a conversation with Thanh Nien reporter, Mr. Bach Cao Cuong, founder of a Vietnamese brand, who has worked in the garment industry for more than 30 years, said that the ongoing surplus crisis is leading to the collapse of brands that depend on e-commerce platforms. If brands continue to run discount programs, hire KOLs (famous people to advertise products) and lower prices, the only way for brands to produce more is to produce more. This leads to the result of not having enough costs to maintain the business.

Speaking at the Consumer Trends 2026 conference, Ms. Trang Le, President of Vietnam International Fashion Week, said that cooperating with a trend forecasting organization is the first step to bring Vietnamese fashion into line with the international trend. From trend forecasting information, designers and fashion brand owners gain in-depth insights into future consumer trends, from which they can build proactive strategies.

Models performing at the SOLÉA Summer 2025 fashion show celebrating 1 year of operation of the PHAM brand, operating only on the online platform

PHOTO: PHAM

Miss Earth Phuong Khanh wears PHAM brand outfit at SOLÉA Summer 2025 show

PHOTO: PHAM

Ms. Carla Buzasi, CEO of trend forecasting company WGSN, commented that consumers must always be placed at the center of every brand's strategic plan. In reality, consumer behavior is changing rapidly, so fashion brands need to promptly grasp market forecast information to minimize risks and plan effectively. One of the most important things is that brands identify their target customer groups and interact with them long-term in the future.

However, the Vietnamese fashion picture in the first half of 2025 is not all gray. Besides the wave of closures and suspensions, many brands still have optimistic signs. Brands White Ant and Sixdo continue to open more stores in the provinces. Brand PHAM, designers Le Thanh Hoa and Do Manh Cuong have runway shows in April. Entering May, fashion lovers continue to look forward to a series of runway events for domestic brands SR Celebrating Local Pride 9 , the Vietnam Wedding Fest wedding fashion show and Vietnam International Fashion Week Spring Summer 2025 expected to return in early June.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/thoi-trang-viet-giua-con-bao-dong-cua-185250514223234151.htm