Local designer sheds light on the reality of Vietnam’s fashion industry

Local designer sheds light on the reality of Vietnam’s fashion industry

Vietnamese designer Anna Vo thinks the fashion industry is tough to succeed in, but also rife with opportunity.

Vo, an RMIT Vietnam Guest Lecturer and owner of Anna Vo Fashion Boutique in Ho Chi Minh City, will be one of over 300 local and international fashion industry experts and academics expected to take part in next month’s Fashion Colloquia event, hosted by RMIT from 5 to 7 July, called Producing Fashion: Made in Vietnam.

“Being in fashion is not just about flying around the world for Elle magazine or buying for brands,” says Vo, who grew up around fashion, and completed her formal education in San Diego, USA, and then Milan, Italy.

Offering advice to students, she stresses the need for them to do what she calls ‘drop from the sky’. 

“At the end of the day it’s a business, and you need to be able to sell clothes to sustain it.”

Anna Vo in her boutique in HCMC’s District 1 Anna Vo in her boutique in HCMC’s District 1

Vo says she often sees students get into the industry starry-eyed, unprepared for how hard it is, nor open to the diverse range of careers the industry has to offer.

“People need to realise how hard it is to be in this industry and be a fashion designer,” she says.

“Everyone wants their own brand and their own shop, but students need to have other experiences in the industry first.”

In Vietnam, she points specifically to the influx of large garment manufacturers, companies like Market Fit Group for example, who supply to the likes of Mango, H&M and Zara.

“These are great opportunities for graduates straight out of school,” Vo says, referring to these companies’ desire to employ young people in production management roles.

Looking to the future, with trade agreements pending, Vo sees the current growth continuing and predicts good times ahead for the fashion business.

Anna Vo at work in her studio. Anna Vo at work in her studio.

“Once the TPP is signed, a lot of companies will be coming here,” she says.

“They already are, from Italy, Thailand, Malaysia and more, so there will be a lot of opportunities to work in the fashion business here.”

Anna Vo will take part in a panel discussion on the topic “The Changing Face of the Vietnamese Fashion Industry” on day two of the three-day Fashion Colloquia event. For the full schedule and more information go to Producing Fashion: Made in Vietnam fashion colloquia event page.

Story: Jon Aspin

27 June 2016

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