Folklore of the Silk Lady: DOAN Atelier Weaves Tradition and Innovation into Vietnamese Fashion Narrative
In an era where Vietnamese creatives are experiencing unprecedented global recognition, a new generation of designers is meticulously crafting their niche within the international fashion landscape. Among them, DOAN Atelier stands out, its collections deeply imbued with a philosophy that honors historical roots while boldly charting a path toward the future. The brand’s critically acclaimed collection, Nàng Gấm – translated as Folklore of the Silk Lady – is a testament to this ethos. Inspired by ancestral traditions passed down through generations, Nàng Gấm celebrates the enduring beauty and profound strength of Vietnamese women throughout history, presenting a vision that elevates the regality inherent in labor.
Jennie (Gia Linh) Doan, a graduate of Seneca Polytechnic’s Fashion Arts program, unveiled her capstone collection last spring. The presentation featured an array of innovative and striking looks that not only showcased her design prowess but also served as a vibrant affirmation of Vietnamese heritage. The collection’s impact was swiftly recognized, earning Jennie a prestigious nomination for the Fashion Design Student Award at the recent Canada Arts and Fashion Awards. This accolade underscores the growing visibility and appreciation for emerging talent from Vietnam on the global stage.
EnVi had the opportunity to engage in a candid conversation with the creative minds behind DOAN Atelier: siblings Jennie and Austin Doan. Speaking via Zoom, the duo delved into their familial heritage, the genesis of their brand, and the rich narrative woven into the Nàng Gấm collection. Their collaboration represents a harmonious blend of artistic vision and strategic direction, positioning DOAN Atelier as a significant emerging force in contemporary fashion.
The Siblings Behind the Seams: A Legacy of Art and Innovation
At the heart of DOAN Atelier lies the profound synergy between Jennie and Austin Doan. As siblings and creative partners, their professional relationship is a natural extension of their lifelong bond. Jennie, the visionary designer, meticulously articulates and constructs each garment, breathing life into her conceptualizations. Austin, serving as the creative director, orchestrates the overarching vision of the collection, guiding its narrative through extensive research and sophisticated editorial direction.
Their shared artistic journey began in Vietnam, a country with a deep-seated appreciation for the arts that permeates their family history. Their lineage boasts three generations of musicians and dancers, a rich cultural tapestry that has undoubtedly influenced their creative sensibilities. Jennie’s background in ballet, with its emphasis on form, movement, and expressive storytelling, and Austin’s studies in traditional Vietnamese music, have provided them with a unique foundation. Upon relocating to Toronto for their higher education, they sought to forge new pathways within the arts, venturing beyond their established disciplines. Austin expanded his artistic repertoire to encompass visual mediums, directing music videos, short films, and documentaries. Simultaneously, Jennie discovered her calling in the world of fashion, finding a profound connection between the structured artistry of costume design and the elevated realm of haute couture.
"We’ve always been so fascinated with fashion, and I think it makes sense because we’re both in the arts," Austin explained. "We’re both performers ourselves, and so we have that kind of connection to costume design." This perspective, honed through years of dance rehearsals and exposure to the elaborate costumes that accompany performance, informed Jennie’s design philosophy. She recognized that in disciplines where movement and the human form are paramount, the structure of clothing is not merely aesthetic but functional, serving as a vital element of expression. Jennie applies this principle to her fashion designs, believing that garments must possess a specific quality of movement and visual presence, a philosophy that she identifies as the core of DOAN Atelier’s identity.
Weaving Stories: The Genesis of Nàng Gấm
The Doan siblings, drawing from their immersion in classical art forms and a heritage rich in generational craft, turned their gaze towards traditional Vietnamese arts. Their inspiration was deeply rooted in the stories and folklore that shaped their childhood. The collection’s title, Folklore of the Silk Lady, directly references the legends, myths, and tales that were a constant presence in their upbringing. Jennie found particular resonance in the histories of Vietnamese heroines, from the legendary Trưng Sisters, formidable military commanders who led a rebellion in the 1st century against Han Chinese rule, to the resilient maidens featured in fairytales such as Tấm and Cám, often described as the Vietnamese counterpart to Cinderella. Beyond these historical and mythical figures, Jennie also sought inspiration from the personal narratives shared by her grandparents and parents, stories of their past and their life experiences. Through this research, she aimed to pay homage to the women who served as the custodians of folklore, the women who have historically carried the threads of cultural memory forward.
"I wanted to dive deeper into how women dressed in the past and what they normally wore," Jennie elaborated. "I got inspired by áo dài, our traditional costume, áo yếm, and áo bà ba." Her research involved an extensive exploration of Vietnamese garments, examining their regional variations and their evolution across different historical periods. This meticulous approach to historical accuracy, coupled with a contemporary design sensibility, forms the bedrock of Nàng Gấm.
Austin, leveraging his experience in documentary filmmaking, played a crucial role in the extensive research underpinning the collection’s exploration of Vietnamese womenswear. A significant challenge, as Jennie noted, was to remain faithful to historical authenticity while simultaneously allowing for creative reinterpretation and modern adaptation.
Silk, Vietnam’s most historically significant and widely produced fabric, emerges as the central protagonist in Nàng Gấm. The collection prominently features gấm (heavy silk) and lụa (mulberry silk), fabrics that carry immense cultural weight. "When she first pitched this idea, it very much felt like a love letter to silk," Austin remarked. "It not only felt like a love letter to the fabric itself, but to Vietnamese women." This profound reverence for both the material and its muses is palpable in every piece of Nàng Gấm, which reimagines traditional Vietnamese attire through a distinctly contemporary, editorial lens.
The Narrative of Nàng Gấm: Class, Labor, and Femininity
At its conceptual core, Nàng Gấm navigates the intricate interplay of class, labor, and femininity within Vietnamese society. The collection’s striking color palette is characterized by a deliberate duality: black and yellow. These hues are not merely aesthetic choices; they represent the working class and nobility, respectively. Black was historically favored by rural laborers, its practical nature offering resistance to dirt and stains during agricultural work. In contrast, vibrant yellows were the prerogative of the upper classes, symbolizing wealth, affluence, and authority. This distinction was further amplified by the exclusive access to silk, a luxurious fabric that was attainable only by those of elevated social and economic standing.
The collection meticulously incorporates a diverse array of iconic elements and garments from Vietnamese heritage, drawing from various social classes, regions, and ceremonial occasions. It transitions from the formal elegance of the áo dài to more everyday silhouettes, such as the áo yếm, a halterneck undergarment, and the áo bà ba, a long-sleeved blouse and pant ensemble historically associated with women in the rural Mekong Delta.
Looks 2 and 5 particularly exemplify this deliberate balance, reinterpreting these traditional garments with a modern sensibility while preserving the timeless, rustic, and intimate beauty characteristic of Vietnamese women. Notably, Look 5 achieved international exposure when it was featured in the music video for "RUNWAY" by Lady Gaga and Doechii. This ensemble, with its skirt designed to flare like a blooming lotus, intricately embeds profound cultural imagery within a high-fashion context, aligning the motif of Vietnamese femininity and resilience with the song’s empowering theme of confidence.
Further enriching the collection’s narrative are reimagined accessories that echo historical significance. These include the khăn mỏ quạ, a square headscarf traditionally worn by rural working women; the nón ba tầm, a flat palm hat favored by middle to upper-class Northerners; the mấn (or khăn đồng), a ceremonial wedding headdress; and the kiềng, a silver or gold necklace often passed down as a cherished family heirloom. The integration of attire from diverse regions of Vietnam underscores the multifaceted nature of labor and how dress is intrinsically shaped by geography, occupation, and daily life. Nàng Gấm masterfully juxtaposes the utilitarian design principles of workwear with the regal silhouettes of ceremonial garb, seamlessly intertwining these elements into contemporary couture compositions.
This striking contrast is vividly illustrated in Look 1, where a long robe draws inspiration from the áo tấc, a rain cloak constructed from layered palm leaves, and the áo long bào, a gold, dragon-emblazoned robe historically reserved for emperors. The intentional marriage of garments from such disparate origins creates a powerful visual dialogue.
In Look 3, the silhouette of the skirt draws a direct parallel to nơm bắt cá (fish trapping baskets), while cascading yellow silk fringes evoke the appearance of flowing grains of rice. This imagery powerfully conveys the generations of agricultural labor and the sustenance it provided.
Look 4 pays homage to the ethnic minority communities residing in Vietnam’s mountainous regions. Its dramatic asymmetrical shoulder piece emulates the contours of rolling hills and towering peaks, while carved waves across the fabric represent the movement of ruộng bậc thang (terraced rice fields). Worn over a backless áo yếm-inspired dress featuring a bold leg slit, and complemented by a wide-brimmed nón ba tầm that artfully conceals the eyes, this ensemble projects an aura of confidence and allure, capturing the quiet yet profound resilience of Vietnamese women.
From Sketch to Silhouette: The Labor of Love
Look 4 also holds the distinction of being the genesis of the Nàng Gấm collection – the initial sketch from which the entire collection evolved. It was the first design brought to life from Jennie’s original conception, with the preliminary sketch preserved in its entirety throughout the garment’s meticulous execution.
The construction of this piece presented a significant learning curve, with Jennie candidly acknowledging the challenges of working with silk. Furthermore, she was committed to utilizing a finite supply of material, ensuring that all silks and fabrics for the collection were sourced directly from Vietnam. The Doan siblings’ family played an integral role in the collection’s development, with their parents diligently procuring the necessary textiles from local markets and artisans in Vietnam before shipping them to Canada. This collaborative effort, supported by family, local businesses, and artisans, embodies an "it takes a village" approach, reinforcing the collection’s unwavering commitment to Vietnamese authenticity and craftsmanship.
During their interview, Jennie shared a piece of test fabric she had experimented with to achieve the distinctive grooved slashes on the shoulder piece of Look 4. The signature yellow silk peeks out from beneath the black canvas, interwoven with intricate lines of embroidery, each slit and threaded pattern meticulously executed by hand. Jennie recounted how she had deconstructed an áo dài sent by her mother, carefully studying its layers, seams, and structure to gain a deeper understanding of its assembly.
The painstaking level of detail invested in each piece profoundly embodies the thematic proverb underpinning Nàng Gấm: khó nhọc, sung sướng sau, which translates literally to "suffer first, ease later," a Vietnamese equivalent of "no pain, no gain." This adage, deeply ingrained in Jennie and Austin by their parents, resonated particularly with Jennie as she painstakingly assembled each garment.
This philosophy of discipline and care is mirrored in Jennie’s approach to design. "As a designer, I feel like everything we do, we have to have the intention behind it," she stated. "I don’t want to put something in without any meaning – even down to the smallest detail like a button or a seam."
Embracing agricultural motifs throughout the collection, Jennie emphasized the critical importance of manual labor to "harvest the fruit" of her creative endeavors. Much like the fishermen, rice harvesters, weavers, and countless other hardworking individuals in Vietnam, this intensive labor and meticulous care are essential for preserving delicate beauty. Through the creation of this collection, Jennie gained a profound appreciation for the labor of Vietnamese women throughout history and their invaluable contributions to preserving cultural and material traditions.
Nàng Gấm on the Global Stage: A New Era for Vietnamese Fashion
The unveiling of Nàng Gấm marks not an endpoint, but a significant milestone for DOAN Atelier. Jennie and Austin are diligently working to solidify their presence in the fashion industry, navigating the demanding rhythms of academic pursuits, professional commitments, and daily life. Their immediate focus is on deepening their understanding of the industry, fostering connections with fellow creatives, and strategically expanding their team.
Deeply inspired by the pioneering Vietnamese designers who have paved the way and by their contemporary peers in the industry, the siblings aspire to join them in occupying prominent spaces on the global stage, representing a burgeoning vision of Vietnamese talent.
During the development and showcase of Nàng Gấm, Jennie and Austin observed that many were consistently impressed by the quality of the silk, often exclaiming, "Wow, is this coming from Vietnam?" This sentiment initially surprised them, as they noted, "This is something we could easily have access to. Literally, if you go to Bến Thành Market, this silk is so abundant, but it is something so unknown to people elsewhere."
As one of the world’s largest exporters of textiles, Vietnam plays a monumental role in the global fashion supply chain. However, its long and rich legacy of craftsmanship has historically remained underrecognized. While Vietnamese tailors in locales like Hội An have recently gained viral popularity among tourists on social media, for Vietnamese people themselves, tailoring culture has always been an intrinsic part of daily life, with shops discreetly situated on nearly every corner.
Reflecting on their aspirations for how both Vietnamese and international audiences will perceive their future work, Austin shared with EnVi: "It’s not just about promoting Vietnamese fabrics and products, but also for them to know that ‘Hey, we’re Vietnamese, and we can do this.’ This is something from our country, and this is something we can do."
As Jennie and Austin Doan continue to evolve their creative output, DOAN Atelier remains steadfast in building upon the foundational principles established by Nàng Gấm, translating heritage into modern reinterpretations. The brand is committed to positioning Vietnam not merely as a hub of production, but as a vibrant center of emerging creative talent, steeped in rich craftsmanship, profound cultural memory, and forward-thinking innovation.
At the very heart of DOAN Atelier lies an enduring tribute to Vietnamese women, spanning from the past to the present. Their strength, resilience, and labor continue to shape the very fabric of each meticulously crafted piece.
