Thai Nguyen Spring 2012
Thai Nguyen#8232; #8232;“Identity” was the theme of Thai Ngyuyen’s Spring 2012 collection, shown Oct. 15 at Concept Los Angeles Fashion Week at ACE Gallery.
The Huntington Beach, Calif.–based designer and “Launch My Line” finalist said his inspiration came from his cultural background. “What better than being true to myself and being inspired by my own culture and heritage?” queried the designer.The Ao Dai, the traditional silk tunic worn by Vietnamese women, created the collection’s long and lean silhouettes, and a vintage photo of a Vietnamese woman holding a fan inspired its embroidery motifs.
Nguyen opened the show with a series of models walking the runway wearing the Ao Dai—all in a nude palette—and fanning themselves. “I wanted the girls to be holding the fan [in the opening] because that was the [image] that I had,” Nguyen explained. Merging traditional styling with a modern aesthetic is helping Nguyen establish his voice as a Vietnamese-American designer.
The palette was soft and feminine in light pastels, nude, red and black. Nguyen said he likes to design and make dresses that make women feel pretty. “It’s summer and I wanted something fun and I wanted something pretty because I feel like L.A. is missing that prettiness,” he said. The dress collection was made in lightweight fabrics such as silk charmeuse, chiffon, georgette and organza. There was everything from ultra-modern cocktail dresses trimmed with pops of color to traditional silhouettes with the embroidered fan motif and extravagant hand-beaded couture gowns.—N. Jayne Seward
