'Vietnam fashion shopping tour' attracts international visitors

Not only serving domestic needs, many domestic fashion brands are appearing popularly in the shopping baskets of international tourists when coming to Vietnam.

A group of Singaporean tourists shopping on Nguyen Trai Street (District 1), holding Vietnamese fashion products - Photo: TRUONG LINH

With the advantage of unique design, reasonable price and variety in models, domestic fashion has become an attractive cultural highlight in the journey of discovering Vietnam of many tourists.

Tourists love Vietnamese fashion because it is unique and affordable.

Claire Lim - 24 years old, a tourist from Singapore - spent two days traveling to Ho Chi Minh City just to shop on famous fashion streets of Ho Chi Minh City such as Nguyen Trai, Ly Tu Trong, Tran Quang Dieu...

Claire Lim said she accidentally learned about Vietnamese fashion brands through social media and expressed that she "spent almost all of her budget" on this trip shopping.

"Vietnamese fashion products are not only trendy and diverse in style, but most shop owners also try to create sustainable clothing designs, flexible coordination and good quality. That's why I choose to shop here," said Ms. Lim.

Not only the designs, but also the prices at clothing stores in Vietnam are highly appreciated by many tourists for their diversity, meeting many customer segments.

Sharing her experience, Ms. Nhu Luong (26 years old), a Vietnamese tourist from Norway, said that she loves fashion products from Vietnam because the prices are so good compared to the quality. Compared to many countries she has visited, she believes that with the same price, fashion products bought in Vietnam are of much better quality.

"There are many products here that I cannot find in Norway or other places. This makes my style more unique, so I really enjoy shopping in Vietnam," said Nhu Luong.

Many international tourists said they were impressed with Vietnamese fashion recently because of its quick updates to global trends.

This trend is clearly demonstrated through the increase in searches, shares and discussions about Vietnamese brands on international social networks.

On social media platforms, especially TikTok and Instagram, there are more and more videos tagged #VietnamLocalBrand, #VietnamFashionTour or #VietnamShoppingHaul with hundreds of thousands of views.

Young tourists from Asian countries such as Korea, Thailand and European tourists visit Vietnamese fashion stores in old apartment buildings, shops in the center of Ho Chi Minh City, not only to "ride horses to see flowers" but also to experience and own new designs. These new models are considered to be as trendy as big brands.

Ms. Nguyen Thuy Linh Cat - founder of the Catci brand - said that the brand is being chosen by many international customers when coming to Vietnam thanks to its minimalist design, easy to coordinate, affordable prices and especially its sustainability and long-term use.

"Today's youth want to be different and shape their personal style while "mass" brands cannot solve this. This is a big space for Vietnamese fashion brands because they can promote their advantages of being creative, capturing trends well, having affordable prices and quality that is not inferior to brands in the world," said Ms. Cat.

Turn fever into momentum

Not only successful in the Vietnamese market, some Vietnamese brands also have ambitions to export their names to the international market.

LSoul brand founder Nguyen Trong Lam said the brand is expanding to Bangkok, Thailand and Shanghai, China - a highly competitive fashion market by building monthly collections, slightly adjusting designs to suit local tastes.

"We don't start from scratch, we just need to localize enough so that foreign consumers feel familiar but still recognize the difference of Vietnamese brands," said a brand representative.

Mr. Lam also emphasized that with the current constantly changing tastes, building an identity and focusing on a specific customer group is the way to create an impression in the hearts of customers. Accordingly, instead of outsourcing in China, many brands choose 100% Vietnamese factories to maintain Vietnamese identity and "unique color" in the journey of internationalization.

Talking to Tuoi Tre , Mr. Pham Van Viet - Vice President of the Ho Chi Minh City Textile, Embroidery and Knitting Association - said that the increasing number of tourists buying local fashion products is a great advantage of the Vietnamese market.

According to him, Vietnamese goods have advantages, in which the young generation with the support of technology is gradually mastering the supply chain and design of their fashion products.

"The quality of domestic production is currently very good thanks to the experienced, creative and hard-working workforce. At the same time, the cost of domestic products is currently only about 45% compared to similar products in developed markets. But that is not "cheap goods" but a reasonable price with value beyond expectations," said Mr. Viet.

The representative of the Ho Chi Minh City Textile, Embroidery and Knitting Association also noted that young brands in the early stages of integration can take advantage of the "less but better" model, which means small production, quick launch, focusing on niche markets, avoiding inventory while maintaining flexibility and creativity.

Hashtag #VietnamFashionTour is gradually becoming a trend

Many young tourists from Singapore, Korea, and Thailand proactively create schedules to explore domestic fashion stores when traveling to Vietnam.

Vlogs and short videos on the theme of "fashion tour" are increasingly popular thanks to their diverse designs, reasonable prices and suitability to many audiences. Personal experiences of international tourists have become viral content, turning #VietnamFashionTour into a "keyword" for a new consumer tourism trend, where Vietnamese fashion is the destination.

Internationalizing the domestic market is a long race.

According to experts, Vietnamese fashion is currently only at the starting line on the journey of globalization. Most brands still operate on a small scale, without enough resources to approach the OBM (Original Brand Manufacturer) model.

Domestic raw materials are still limited, lacking synchronous supporting industries, while international competition is increasingly fierce.

Mr. Pham Van Viet believes that Vietnam has many advantages in terms of human resources. The acumen in market approach strategies is helping many young brands to overcome by their own path, small production, quick launch, choosing niche markets, and taking advantage of cross-border e-commerce more effectively.

In addition, 3D design technology, artificial intelligence in prototyping, creative support and personalization are helping Vietnamese local brands save time, costs and speed up their market entry.

Mr. Viet also emphasized that technology is no longer the advantage of large enterprises but an equal tool for all brands, if they have identity, to reach global consumers.

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Source: https://tuoitre.vn/tour-mua-sam-thoi-trang-viet-nam-hut-khach-quoc-te-202505110749501.htm