News from LCDF

Fashion Designer Le Hoang Son, a graduate student from London College for Design and Fashion – Hanoi with his collection entitled “The Nocturnal” has won the 1st runner-up and become the first Vietnamese representative to win the HARPER’S BAZAAR ASIA NEWGEN AWARDS in the past 6 years.

Le Hoang Son was one of the two Vietnamese representatives to attend the 6th Harper's Bazaar Asia New Gen Fashion Design Contest hosted by Harper's Bazaar Singapore on October 30 for young design talents in Asia region. The young designer has impressed the judges with his collection - The Nocturnal.

The 1st Runner-up prize, including a scholarship to study in London, Milan or Paris is an impressive milestone for a young designer like Le Hoang Son since he has just graduated from London College for Design and Fashion – Hanoi.

“Son's collection brings together advanced techniques such as biding, lining…. Moreover, the details created by the Northern Vietnamese artisans are very well made. Son also has the level of business knowledge that goes beyond his age. Surely, this contestant will go very far in the future… ”- Kenny G, editor-in-chief of Harper’s Bazaar Singapore commented.

The Nocturnal illustrates the image of a charming, mysterious woman with various psychological aspects: romantic, feminine yet edgy and strong.

The designs blend together the edgy beauty of the Western corset and stylized details from the armor of Japanese female samurai (onna-bugeisha). The main color scheme including mysterious black with a touch white and silver accents were added to elaborate the details on the designs.

The Nocturnal focuses on traditional craftsmanship from the attachment techniques to the weaving yarn the young designer hopes to introduce the quintessential values of Vietnam to the world. The use of traditional materials hand-woven from silk yarn also partly contributes to the preservation of Vietnamese craft village techniques.

Le Hoang Son presenting his collections for the judges

After the competition, Le Hoang Son shared his thought about the competition: “This is a journey with useful lessons, along with sincere advices and contributions from people in the regional fashion industry which really help me to grow.”

He also shared: “Fashion is the second most polluting industry after oil. It can be said that sustainability is vital for most fashion brands around the world. This trend is growing strongly in Vietnam. I can see many young designers now also focusing on sustainable fashion.

We surely have enough resources as well as social and cultural values ​​to be able to develop this. For example, using traditional handmade materials, fabric that made of bamboo, lotus, etc. or focusing on handicraft villages to help develop sustainable human resources. However, compared to what the environment is currently experiencing, we still really need to make even more efforts.”

Harper’s Bazaar Asia NewGen Awards Singapore is held annually seeking young Asian design talents. Creativity, skills and feasible business plans are the criteria for selecting the winners. The contest has come to an end but at the same time, it has opened a new door for potential and talented young designers like Le Hoang Son.