Vietnamese Model’s Chinese Ao Dai Criticized for Differing from Tradition

A top Vietnamese model named Chui Rong, 2008's Ms. Vietnam, has become the center of media attention recently. She walked down the runway with what some felt was too Chinese of an Ao Dai. The Ao Dai is a traditional silk garment worn by Vietnamese women. Vietnamese cultural figures felt the dress threw away tradition precisely when tradition should be upheld.

Towards the end of June, Chui Rong traveled to the historic city of Rome, Italy after receiving a special invitation to participate in a spring and summer themed fashion show. All the featured outfits followed the theme of mixing a breath of modernity with Vietnamese tradition.

Chui Rong's improved version of the Ao Dai was the show's leading outfit, simultaneously becoming a "problem outfit," in the eyes of the Vietnamese public. The outfit looked similar to the Chinese Qipao. The sleeves were removed and the trousers shortened and tightened.

Vietnamese women in traditional Ao Dai

On her personal Weibo account, the outfit's designer A Qiong responded, "To take all this outfit's materials and mix them up with tradition is too narrow-minded. The designer has the right to choose whatever material they believe represents the outfit's special qualities, even if it is from a foreign source, and especially when mixing tradition and modernity." She also admitted, "Through the pattern, style, and design, one must be able to see tradition. That is the most important."