Culture Culture

19/04/2019 - 15:16

Bringing Zeng onto Hue ao dai

29 years ago was the first time Minh Hanh, the designer, introduced a collection of brocade of the people in the Northern mountainous region.

At that time, many people still believed that brocade was not a suitable material for fashion, because of its rich colors of ethnic people, of forests and mountains, and was non-modern. She was even advised by friends not to use this material in fashion, because they were afraid it was not persuasive.

But after only one day of introduction, the first brocade collection was sought-after by young people and was sold-out. That made her realize that the rule of fashion is to find new values of the era, and to seek traditional values as well.

A Luoi Zeng weaving. Photo: PHAN THANH

Zeng weaving is a traditional craft of Ta Oi minority, A Luoi district. Each zeng cloth is both an item used in daily life and a work of art to express the cultural and spiritual life of Ta Oi people.

Over hundreds of years, Zeng weaving is preserved and handed down by local people. They themselves find the right materials to weave the multi-colored fabrics with unique patterns. With an experience of 30 years of researching and implementing all the values of brocade materials, Minh Hanh (the designer) thinks that if the province wants to develop material resources to build Hue Ao Dai brand, it is necessary to thoroughly protect the value of Zeng.

On her first visit to A Luoi, Minh Hanh proposed to the local authorities to activate Zeng weaving right away in the locality, by having the students to wear Zeng shirts every Monday morning when saluting the flag. At the same time, the number of weavers needs to be increased by opening weaving classes for girls aged 10 and over.

According to the designer, to have a traditional material with a sustainable life, there must be a proper market. With precious traditional materials such as Zeng, it is necessary to have strong measures to preserve and develop so that Zeng not only exists with its brand name but also contributes to improving the life of the weavers.

Arriving in Hue to attend the conference on promoting Hue cultural values in building Hue Ao Dai brand name, fashion designer Minh Hanh appeared confident and luxurious in stylized ao dai of brocade material. She spent a lot of time chatting with artisans of the Zeng weaving profession from A Luoi mountain town. She considers Zeng a unique, high-quality material and wishes Zeng to be more accessible to consumers through the traditional ao dai.

“Zeng is the most vivid version because the aesthetic weavers have to meticulously and patiently weave and attach the beads. Ta Oi people have a very harmonious and strong sense of color. Therefore, when weaving Zeng fabrics, they create many strange and reasonable patterns. I do not understand if by coincidence or intention, the patterns of Zeng today are very modern. One thing that needs to be improved is to weave from more luxurious fibers of natural origin. Thus, Zeng will become a unique product and difficult to be competed with,” said Minh Hanh designer.

Minh Hanh (designer) and the weaving artists discussing about bringing Zeng to "the streets". Photo: THU THUY

Containing unique values, the Zeng weaving craft of A Luoi has been recognized by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism as a national intangible cultural heritage. Through the program to support intellectual property’s development, Thua Thien Hue has also actively supported A Luoi to establish, manage and develop a collective trademark for Zeng.

Ms. Mai Thi Hop, artisan, (Director of Zeng - Brocade Textile Co-operative of A Luoi Town) was very excited when she joined Minh Hanh in discussing how to bring Zeng onto ao dai. She was also the one who had the honor to accompany Minh Hanh to Japan and France to introduce Zeng weaving technique and the cultural value of this brocade material.

“We support and look forward to the fashion designers putting Zeng onto their ao dai. We are ready to weave fabric samples required by the designers, as long as they show the traditional spirit of the culture,” said Ms. Hop.

Despite having much love for Zeng, Minh Hanh (designer) said that with the current simple Zeng fabrics, if it is put on ao dai, it is difficult to attract the majority of consumers. According to her, Zeng is a high-class material, so when one puts Zeng into daily life clothes, one needs to put it right in its place.

Zeng has beads that make it slightly heavy. So, it needs to be combined with lighter materials to balance. Zeng is strong with black, white and red patterns, so whatever the designers combine Zeng with new trends of the era, they must keep this spirit.

And more importantly, Zeng is a product of the mountains and forests of ethnic minorities, designers need to combine it with new and modern values creatively to suit the tastes of consumers in many different regions.