In an era where Vietnamese creatives are increasingly commanding global attention, a new cohort of designers is making indelible marks on the international fashion landscape. Among them, DOAN Atelier stands out, a brand whose very essence is woven from the threads of history and the aspirations of the future. Their collection, Nàng Gấm, translating to Folklore of the Silk Lady, is a profound exploration of traditions passed down through generations, a vibrant celebration of the enduring beauty and strength of Vietnamese women across history, envisioned through the lens of the regal dignity of labor.
Jennie (Gia Linh) Doan, a graduate of Seneca Polytechnic’s Fashion Arts program, unveiled this pivotal collection last spring. Her designs, characterized by their innovative spirit and bold silhouettes, are deeply rooted in Vietnamese traditions. This dedication to heritage and forward-thinking design earned Jennie a prestigious nomination for the Fashion Design Student Award at the recent Canada Arts and Fashion Awards, a testament to her burgeoning talent.
EnVi had the opportunity to connect with the creative minds behind DOAN Atelier, siblings Jennie and Austin Doan, via Zoom. Their conversation offered an intimate glimpse into their familial roots, the genesis of their brand, and the rich lore that underpins Nàng Gấm.
The Siblings Behind the Seams: A Legacy of Artistry
Jennie and Austin Doan, as siblings and creative collaborators, share a bond that naturally translates into their professional synergy. Jennie, the visionary designer, meticulously articulates and constructs each garment, breathing life into her concepts. Austin, serving as the creative director, cultivates the collection’s narrative through extensive research and sophisticated editorial direction.
Hailing from Vietnam, the siblings are the inheritors of a family deeply immersed in the arts, with a lineage spanning three generations of musicians and dancers. Jennie’s early life was shaped by ballet, while Austin pursued traditional music. Their relocation to Toronto for their studies marked a pivotal moment, prompting them to explore new artistic avenues. Austin expanded his creative scope to visual mediums, producing music videos, short films, and documentaries, while Jennie discovered her calling in the intricate world of fashion.
"We’ve always been so fascinated with fashion, and I think it makes sense because we’re both in the arts," Austin shared. "We’re both performers ourselves, and so we have that kind of connection to costume design."
Jennie’s own experience, honed through years of dance rehearsals amidst a panorama of glamorous costumes and a deep appreciation for the craftsmanship behind stage wear, illuminated the profound parallels between theatrical costuming and haute couture. In dance, where movement and the body serve as the primary language, costume structure is paramount. Jennie has masterfully translated this understanding into her designs, believing it to be the foundational principle of DOAN Atelier: "Garments have to move a certain way and be seen a certain way."
Echoes of Tradition: The Inspiration Behind Nàng Gấm
Drawing from a rich family history steeped in classical art forms and the generational inheritance of craft, Jennie and Austin turned their gaze towards traditional Vietnamese arts. Their inspiration began with the timeless stories that had been a part of their upbringing. The collection’s title, Folklore of the Silk Lady, directly references the legends, myths, and tales that shaped their childhood. Jennie found particular inspiration in the histories of Vietnamese heroines, from the formidable Trưng Sisters, 1st-century military commanders who led significant rebellions against Chinese rule, to resilient maidens depicted in fairytales like Tấm and Cám, often referred to as the Vietnamese Cinderella. Beyond these historical figures and folklore, Jennie sought to pay homage to the unsung keepers of tradition: the women who diligently carry histories forward through their everyday lives and ancestral knowledge.
"I wanted to dive deeper into how women dressed in the past and what they normally wore," Jennie explained. "I was inspired by áo dài, our traditional costume, áo yếm, and áo bà ba." Her research delved into the nuances of Vietnamese garments, examining regional variations and their evolution across different historical periods.
Austin, leveraging his experience in documentary filmmaking, spearheaded the in-depth research into the evolution of Vietnamese womenswear for the collection. Jennie highlighted a key challenge: maintaining historical accuracy while allowing for creative interpretation and contemporary reimagining.
Central to Nàng Gấm is silk, Vietnam’s most historically significant and widely produced fabric. The collection prominently features gấm (heavy silk) and lụa (mulberry silk). "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 within Nàng Gấm, which reinterprets traditional Vietnamese attire through a contemporary, editorial sensibility.
The Tapestry of Lore: Unraveling Nàng Gấm
At its core, Nàng Gấm explores the intricate interplay of class, labor, and femininity within Vietnamese society. The collection’s striking color palette juxtaposes black and yellow, symbolizing the working class and nobility, respectively. Black was historically favored by rural laborers, its practicality in masking dirt from agricultural work making it an essential choice. Conversely, the upper echelons of society adorned themselves in vibrant yellows, a hue signifying wealth, affluence, and authority. It was this privileged class, of course, who possessed the means to wear silk, a luxurious fabric accessible only to those of their social and economic standing.
The collection showcases a diverse array of iconic elements and garments representative of Vietnamese heritage across different social strata, regions, and occasions. It moves seamlessly 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 set traditionally associated with women in the Mekong Delta.
Looks 2 and 5 exemplify this careful balance, reinterpreting these garments with a modern sensibility while preserving the timeless, rustic, and intimate beauty characteristic of Vietnamese women. Notably, Look 5 garnered international attention when it was featured in Lady Gaga and Doechii’s music video for "RUNWAY." This ensemble, featuring a lotus-leaf patterned skirt that unfurls like a blooming lotus, masterfully 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.
Beyond clothing, reimagined accessories enrich the collection’s narrative. 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 đội), a ceremonial wedding headdress; and kiềng, an heirloom necklace crafted from silver or gold.
The incorporation of attire from various regions of Vietnam underscores the diversity of labor and how dress is intrinsically shaped by geography, occupation, and daily life. Nàng Gấm skillfully bridges the utilitarian design of workwear with the regal silhouettes of ceremonial garb, weaving them together into contemporary couture compositions.
This thematic contrast is vividly illustrated in Look 1. The long robe draws inspiration from the áo tơi, a rain cloak fashioned from layered palm leaves, and the áo long bào, a gold, dragon-emblazoned robe historically reserved for emperors. This deliberate juxtaposition of garments from vastly different origins creates a powerful visual dialogue.
In Look 3, the silhouette of the skirt mirrors the shape of nơm bắt cá (fish trapping baskets), while cascading yellow silk fringes evoke flowing grains of rice. This imagery powerfully symbolizes generations of agricultural labor and the sustenance it provides.
Look 4 pays homage to the ethnic minority communities residing in Vietnam’s mountainous regions. Its dramatic asymmetrical shoulder piece emulates the undulating contours of rolling hills and towering peaks. Intricately carved waves across the garment evoke the movement of ruộng bậc thang (terraced rice fields). Worn over a backless áo yếm-inspired dress with a daring leg slit, and accessorized with a wide-brimmed nón ba tầm that artfully obscures the eyes, this look exudes confidence and allure, capturing the quiet resilience characteristic of Vietnamese women.
From Conception to Creation: The Art of Craftsmanship
Look 4 also holds a special significance as it marks the genesis of Nàng Gấm—the initial sketch from which the entire collection evolved. This design, the first brought to life from Jennie’s original vision, has been preserved in its complete form throughout its execution.
The construction of this piece presented a significant learning curve, particularly Jennie’s experience with the delicate handling of silk. Compounding this challenge was the constraint of a finite material supply, prompting a conscious effort to source all silks and fabrics for the collection directly from Vietnam. The Doan family played an integral role in the collection’s development, with Jennie and Austin’s parents procuring the necessary textiles from local markets and artisans in Vietnam before shipping them to Canada. This familial support, coupled with the collaboration of local businesses and artisans, embodies an "it takes a village" approach, reinforcing the collection’s commitment to Vietnamese authenticity and craftsmanship.
During the interview, Jennie shared a piece of test fabric she had experimented on to create the distinctive grooved slashes on the shoulder piece of Look 4. The signature yellow silk peeked from beneath black canvas, revealing intricate lines of embroidery, each slit and threaded pattern meticulously executed by hand. Jennie recounted how she had carefully dissected an áo dài sent by her mother, meticulously studying its layers, seams, and structure to gain a deeper understanding of its assembly.
The painstaking attention to detail poured into each garment truly embodies the thematic proverb of Nàng Gấm: khó nhọc, sống sau, literally translated as "suffer first, ease later," the Vietnamese equivalent of "no pain, no gain." This maxim, deeply ingrained in Jennie and Austin by their parents, resonated profoundly with Jennie throughout the intricate process of assembling each piece.
This philosophy of discipline and meticulous care is echoed in Jennie’s design approach. "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 within the collection, Jennie underscored the vital importance of hand labor in "harvesting the fruit" of her artistic endeavors. Much like the fishermen, rice harvesters, weavers, and countless other hardworking Vietnamese individuals, it is precisely this intensive labor and unwavering care that are essential for preserving delicate beauty. Through the creation of this collection, Jennie cultivated a profound appreciation for the labor of Vietnamese women throughout history and their invaluable contributions to the preservation of cultural and material traditions.
Nàng Gấm on the Global Stage: A New Era for Vietnamese Talent
The unveiling of Nàng Gấm represents just the beginning for DOAN Atelier. Jennie and Austin are strategically positioning themselves within the fashion industry, navigating the demanding rhythms of academic pursuits, professional careers, and personal lives. Their immediate focus is on deepening their understanding of the industry, fostering connections with fellow creatives, and building a robust team.
Deeply inspired by the Vietnamese designers who have paved the way and their contemporary peers, the siblings aspire to join them in occupying a prominent space on the global stage, representing a burgeoning vision of Vietnamese talent.
During the development and showcase of Nàng Gấm, Jennie and Austin observed a recurring sentiment from attendees impressed by the quality of the silk: "Wow, is this coming from Vietnam?" They expressed initial surprise at this reaction, noting that "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. It is only recently that the artisanal skills of Hội An tailors have gained viral traction on social media among tourists, yet for Vietnamese people, tailoring culture has always been an integral part of daily life, with shops discreetly located on virtually every corner.
Reflecting on their aspirations for both Vietnamese and international audiences, 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 forge ahead with their future creative endeavors, DOAN Atelier continues to build upon the foundational principles of Nàng Gấm, translating heritage into modern interpretations. The brand is steadfast in its mission to position Vietnam not merely as a center of production, but as a vanguard of emerging creative talent, deeply imbued with rich craftsmanship, cultural memory, and innovation.
At the heart of DOAN Atelier lies an enduring tribute to Vietnamese women, spanning from the past to the present. Their strength, resilience, and the indelible mark of their labor continue to shape the very fabric of each meticulously crafted piece.
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