Publication – Do Manh Cuong, hybrid design

One of today’s most talented designers in Vietnam and perhaps the most famous is Do Manh Cuong (DMC) who studied fashion in France. His credo is that “We know urban men and women in Vietnam need a fashion statement that represents their characteristic style and in a cosmopolitan way. DMC offers simple yet chic fashion, high quality clothing at affordable price. ”

To mark five years of activity, he wanted to dazzle the audience with his show “The Muse” on December 19. Preparations had put all possible superlatives into the media:  the most expensive (VND5 Billion), the largest number of models (50 male models, 50 female models), a catwalk of 50-meters long, and the presence of Vietnamese celebrities.

All of that, I knew nothing about.

Perhaps it was a chance because I was able to discover an author only by his work without being influenced by his fame and the glamour that surrounded him.

I was reading the daily newspaper one day when my eyes fell upon a short piece presenting the Muse. The accompagnying poster was in black and white, like a film negative. The desire to attend the show made me pick up the phone to get the photographer badge who would open the doors for me as the event was invitation only.

DMC had not chosen the easy way to build this collection, with The Muse all in black and adorned with Baudelairean flowers.  With classical music, the staging from the cocktail to the show was a total performance in a decor of mansions, cathedrals and streets of Old Paris, a tale of Sleeping Beauties, both dark and romantic.

A Handpicked guest list of top models, actresses and showbiz people attended to the event. Some even came especially from abroad.  I could see some dandies and some women wearing “bibis” hats. The backstage was in agitation like a hype club.  You could cross the crows and night birds, all in black costumes.

The fashion show started with modern clothes in the style of Shanghai movies. The second part saw models wearing extravagant hairstyles, made of flowers and leaves. Some of the dresses seem to be made of organic materials such web spiders and butterfly cocoons. The end is quite mystic with the gigantic dresses with long train that made the models walk in slow motion.

At the end of the show, I wondered what the audience had felt. Beyond the media aspect, I wanted to know if the vision that I personally felt was shared.  I later read various online newspapers but none spoke about the creations themselves, only mentioning the celebrities’ presence. One website spoke about spectators leaving before the end, as if from boredom.

DMC is part of the generation of Vietnamese went abroad to study and returned home to build his business. More than in any other, working in the creative field assumes that cultural references are shared by the speaker and listener; between the author and his audience. Indeed, the same concept can have a totally different meaning between two cultures. For example, the color of mourning in Vietnam is white, black in the West.

In the last two parts of the Muse Fashion Show, the style of the dresses, the symbols used in the decoration and the details in the accessories refer to the French romanticism late eighteenth, early nineteenth century. Even the name The Muse has a specific meaning. The imagination of the informed spectator is piqued by the models, creating the pleasure or at least some understanding.  For myself, I was transported to this epoch that I always liked

So, in a globalised world and cosmopolitan way of life, designers create hybrid works, influenced by various cultures. Explanations by the authors, the critics and the media become even more necessary.   Paradoxically, the final answer comes from DMC itself, in answer to some questions that I put to him to prevent misunderstanding on my part: “Write what you feel. I’m ok with that”.

Once the masterpiece is presented to the public, it is no longer the only property of the artist but of everyone. So it is up to us, spectators, to learn more to appreciate its true value.

Designer Do Manh Cuong at work

Make up

Bags

Cocktail Party

Backstage

Overture

urban clothes

Flowers and leaves

Dresses

Final