Hai Duong beauty and the project to promote costumes of 54 Vietnamese ethnic groups

“Hello everyone. I am Hoa Dan, the person behind the project introducing the traditional costumes of 54 Vietnamese ethnic groups. I started the project with the mindset of the 1st runner-up of Miss Ethnic Groups Vietnam 2022. But after a while, I maintained the project with my love and curiosity for the culture of Vietnamese ethnic groups." This is the introduction of runner-up Luong Thi Hoa Dan about her personal project.

Sharing the reason for doing this project, Hoa Dan said that as a woman, everyone loves fashion. Her project started when she participated in the Miss Ethnic Vietnam Contest. At that time, each contestant wore their own national costume and Dan also tried on the costumes of the ethnic groups. All the contestants found that these costumes were very beautiful and had their own cultural imprints, and when worn, they brought a very special beauty.

The beauty from Hai Duong hopes that people will pay more attention and know more about the beauty of ethnic costumes. From there, they will understand more about the culture of each ethnic group. Therefore, she decided to carry out a personal project to promote the costumes of 54 Vietnamese ethnic groups. With each ethnic group's costume, Hoa Dan uses pictures to help people see more clearly about the costumes, including the materials, the dyeing process, the types of scarves, jewelry, and the occasions to wear the costumes.

The first ethnic costume of the project that Hoa Dan made was the costume of the Tay people. She learned about the indigo dyeing process to create the fabric, creating the 5-panel ao dai of the Tay people. Tay women often wear silver necklaces and bracelets. The process of learning and making the photo series was very interesting but Hoa Dan also encountered difficulties.

Hoa Dan had to consult many sources and search hard to understand and find the original, pure costumes of a nation. Over time, through changes and cultural exchanges, some costumes are still kept pure, but there are also costumes that have changed to be more suitable for daily life.

Right after the success of the first costume, Hoa Dan continued to carry out the project with the costumes of the Mong ethnic group. Dan chose the Mong ethnic group costume because she was inspired by the children at Tham Ma slope, the rammed earth houses in Ha Giang. Hoa Dan was very meticulous and dedicated in choosing accessories and preparing for the photoshoot. However, this was a difficult challenge and she failed to make this costume. Because the Mong ethnic group costume has many versions of different branches and the way to wear it is also much more complicated than the costumes she had made. Therefore, Hoa Dan had to stop taking pictures of the Mong ethnic group costume to spend time to learn more.

Earlier this year, Hoa Dan continued her project with Muong ethnic costumes. Through connections from friends, she went to Lac Son district (Hoa Binh) to meet a Muong family and a long-time ethnic costume tailor to take measurements. “At first, I sent my measurements to the tailor, but they didn’t believe me, saying that there was no girl that tall. I had to go to Hoa Binh to have the tailor take my measurements and then come back to get the costume,” Hoa Dan laughed and recalled the memory.

The journey back to get the costumes was also an unforgettable experience. It was a rainy day, and she and her female assistant rode a motorbike in the dark to Hoa Binh to get the costumes for the photo shoot. Although it was hard, Hoa Dan felt warm because everyone helped her and invited her to enjoy the typical dishes of the Muong ethnic group. After returning to Hanoi to carry out the project, she still kept in touch with the locals to get advice on costume information.

As a personal project, all expenses for Hoa Dan's production had to be paid for entirely. Therefore, the runner-up had to do many steps herself, such as researching, writing content, designing publications, etc. "Whenever things get too difficult, I ask my mother and grandfather for sponsorship," Hoa Dan added.

Currently, she has successfully made two sets of Tay and Muong ethnic costumes. These are all elaborate costumes, and when you look closely, there are many stories surrounding the details, accessories, and stories about the massive culture.

“Every time I make a national costume, I am always overwhelmed by the cultural richness of each ethnic group in Vietnam. And the more I learn, the more proud I am, wanting to bring these stories closer to the community,” runner-up Hoa Dan proudly said.

In the near future, Hoa Dan will continue the project with Thai ethnic costumes. As for the Kinh ethnic costume - Hoa Dan's ethnic group, the runner-up wants to do it last, in the most special way.

What Hoa Dan wishes is that the beauty of Vietnamese ethnic costumes will be promoted more strongly domestically and internationally. Vietnamese ethnic costumes will appear on the world fashion catwalk. Through promoting culture, it will indirectly promote tourism development in a land. The fabrics, scarves, bags, and jewelry made by ethnic minority women will bring in income to improve their lives...

Currently, the beauty from Hai Duong is participating in the Miss Universe Vietnam 2024 contest and has entered the top 33.