News from LCDF

The Vietnamese music industry in recent years has developed rapidly thanks to the high investment of music videos (MVs). If mentioning The Color of Tears, Tu Tam (Trung Quan), Chi nga em nang (Bich Phuong), Who needs who (Bao Anh), I’m so out of love (Duc Phuc), True Love (Orange) or Diamond cut diamond (Hoang Thuy Linh), it’s not difficult to find two things in common: they are all million-view MVs and they both have a visual concept enhanced by stylists and eye catching costumes.

Not a lot of us know that contributing to the unique fashion of these MVs is a 22 year old stylist Mei Mei (Phuong Mai), an alumnous of LCDF- Hanoi.

Let’s find out what a fashion stylist's responsibilities are in a music video, and how Mei Mei pursue her passion for fashion.

Mei Mei (Phuong Mai) (middle) at the Color of tears MV premiere event. The 22-year-old stylist loves a simple, androgynous style.

As a fashion design student who has just graduated, how did you start working as a stylist?

This job came to me quite unexpectedly, when I was preparing to graduate (2018). A Creative Director - Denis Dang (he was a new acquaintance then) called me to say that he was preparing for a really important project. We exchanged back and forth then after the Graduation Fashion Week held at my college, I flew straight to Saigon and gathered with Denis's crew to start my very first project, which was also my most successful styling music video – The color of tears.

The color of tears MV has reached 54 million views. Fashion in the MV is so impressive that many people like it to an advertising campaign of Dolce & Gabbana or Versace. How did relatives and friends react when they found out that Mei Mei was the stylist of this MV?

When the MV was just released, my phone exploded with messages and all the congratulations from family and friends, my Facebook filled with MV sharing posts. Of course after that, I started to collab with other artists. Six months later, I became overwhelmed with work offers and had to hire my own assistant.

The color of tears is praised as the MV with the best script in 2018 as well as the lavish, classic and regal costumes.

Can you share more about the works that you have created as a stylist?

The works I’ve created are mainly for music videos such as Chi nga em nang (Bich Phuong), I’m so out of love (Duc Phuc), Who needs who (Bao Anh), True love (Orange Smoke), Tu Tam , Canh ba (Nguyen Tran Trung Quan), and most recently I contributed on the MV for Diamond cut Diamond- Hoang Thuy Linh. In addition, I also work as a stylist on photoshoots and other commercial campaigns.

Among these MVs, Chi nga em nang is the project for which I had the least time to prepare, only 10 days before shooting (For “ The color of tears”, I had more than one month). The costumes were very detailed and complicated and I prepared nearly 40 costumes including tailored and borrowed designs from designers within a limited timeframe. The MV was filmed in two days; some of the costumes were not ready until the morning of the 2nd day of shooting.

In this MV, Bich Phuong makes appears as a psychic with an interesting personality. The costumes are a bit Indian inspired, but actually they are a combination of different Vietnamese designers’ works including Mei Mei’s.

The process of making I’m so out of love by Duc Phuc gave me a "heart attack". My tailor and I had an intense argument because the garment didn’t turn out as expected. The next day, I had to go and buy fabrics and tell the tailor to re-make the garment and finish it on the same day because I was flying to Hanoi the day after. But by the end of that day, the garment was still not finished. I had to go to the airport first to check in then have the garment delivered to the airport right before departure.

The costumes in this MV look quite simple but are really hard to make, from selecting brocade, choosing fabric textures and pattern and embroidery for each of the Ao dai. I also had to make scarfs and pearl accessories for each set of costumes .

Clothes in I’m so out of love are simple but still required historical research

Can you tell more about the process of creating costume sets for a MV?

First I have to read the script then meet up with the singer and art director. After that, I have to do research finding information and inspiring photos and send them to the team. This process is repetitive and takes the most time. After being approved, I proceed to prepare the costumes and accessories. This stage is the most urgent and tiring. Next are fittings and then shooting. There are also changes that occur after fitting and even right before shooting.

With the The color of tears MV, I received the project at the end of August and we started shooting in October, so it is the MV that I have had the most time to prepare for. Deciding concepts with the team took a lot of time, therefore, I didn't have much time to prepare the costumes. At that time, I was so under pressure. I could not just wing it, you know. I always want the best for my projects. When I’m not satisfied with something, I can't sleep or allow myself to rest.

What are your most unforgettable memories of being a stylist ?

I was alone and had to do everything by myself, every day I had to run around Saigon. When I first came here, I didn't know the city very well. I always had to use Google maps or take a taxi. I can’t remember how many alleys and markets that I’ve been to for costume fabrics or gemstones, beads, etc., for accessories.

Every day, I woke up and started my tour around the city. I only came back when it was dark outside. When I got back, I spent all the time being on my computer to make prints and embroidery patterns for the trip to embroidery shops the next day. Later, when there were more people on the team, whenever someone complained, I suddenly recalled those first days. I still can’t believe I had that much energy and motivation at that time.

The color of tears was filmed in both Saigon and Dalat. Creative Director Nguyen Tran Trung Quan took the whole team to Dalat and we spent a day relaxing. We had so much fun and everyone was so close to each other like a family. That’s why even though the shooting was challenging and exhausting, everyone still tried their best. When we finished the last scene, Quan and I hugged and cried because we were so happy.

MeiMei is the stylist for many projects by Creative Director Denis Dang. Working together from The color of tears, Tu Tam to Canh Ba. The team of Denis Dang, Trung Quan, Quynh Luong and Mei Mei are close friends.

In addition to borrowing from designers and big brands, you also design and make the costumes. Can you share more about this?

I graduated from LCDF – Hanoi. For this reason, I can handle every stages in producing a high quality costumes. Most costumes in the music videos have me to involve in design & production. This is a huge advantage because the garments always meet my expectation when they’re finished.

What is the difference between designing for a music video and designing for cusotmers?

Most of the works I create have quite special concepts such as royal (The color of tears), antiques (I’m so out of love), classical drama (True love), vintage ( Chi nga em nang). Most the costumes are not always available to rent, they require special materials and fabric. That’s why I cannot buy them and I have to make my own. For many costumes, I had to carefully research in order to avoid historical or cultural mistakes.

For example, with “I’m so out of love”, after reading Chi Pheo- the story for inspiration, I studied the history of Vietnamese in terms of fashion, such as the dominant colors or patterns of that time. Then I combined them with current trends to harmonize the modern and historical factors of the MV.

Rebellious, sexy and sweet Bao Anh in Who needs who MV –costumes styled by Mei Mei

Bao Anh's costumes from concept to reality. The process to finalize the concept usually takes a long time. After being approved, the stylist always has to rush in order to catch up with the shooting schedule.

The Vietnamese music industry is developing its focus on the visuals. Therefore, stylists working for MVs are considered as a trendy profession now. What would you say to young people who want to pursue this career path?

In my opinion this is definitely a challenging job. It requires physical capabilities, patience , determination, and eagerness to learn. You have to listen to others’ opinions but also have your own opinions. Also, you should be able to convince that your work meets clients’ requirements. . Having background knowledge about fashion is crucial.

Being a stylist brings me a lot of experiences and new relationships. In the art/ fashion-related world, everyone is artistic and quite stubborn so conflicts are inevitable.

Deciding to study fashion design at LCDF- Hanoi – which is one of the top colleges of art and design in Vietnam, where you create a high volume of practical work; you must have a really big passion for fashion?

Yes, I initially enrolled in LCDF-Hanoi without expectation to handle that much amount of works. It is really true that I just learned and practiced (making real garments). I used to think that I would have part-time jobs like other students but I didn’t have enough time.

In my last term at LCDF-Hanoi, I struggled with physical and mental health issues so I could not go to class. I was very grateful to have dedicated and caring teachers and classmates, especially May Cortazzi- my graduation instructor. She kept texting me, asking about how I was getting on with homework and whether or not I was keeping up with my classmates. She sent me a lot of documents to support my concept at the time. After the presentation, May told me that she could not believe that I had completed all the work.

Mei Mei and her graduate collection

How does the knowledge that you learned at college help you in your career?

I gain a lot of knowledge about different aspects of fashion which is a big advantage in my career. For example, I am very confident in making costumes for MVs because I can understand from concepts to production of garment. In addition, I also learned about digital design skills, so I can design prints and embroidery by myself. As for materials/fabric, I can confidently go to markets and choose the right fabric for each garment.

In the situation of COVID 19, many art activities or mv projects are postponed? How have you been coping with this?

All my work is on hold. Often, at times when there are no projects, I spent time researching and learning things that can be helpful for my job. Financially, I still live comfortably with the income from previous projects.