Shopping in Ho Chi Minh City

View Photos (12) Image © 2000 Annabel Jackson

Shopping Arrives in Vietnam

The brand new concept of 'shopping in Vietnam' has not been spawned by the late but inevitable arrival of international consumables with names like Swatch, Rado, Louis Vuitton and Maurice Lacroix; nor even by talk that Christian Dior will open in Hanoi, selling last season's leftovers at a 30 percent reduction. That there is now a shopping scene is largely thanks to a group of young, creative and dynamic female Vietnamese entrepreneurs who are not out to take tourists for a ride. Travelers to Vietnam as recently as two years ago will remember the poor quality linen and silk jackets and blouses in which everyone from the cash-happy independent traveler to the tighter backpacker lounged. Such garments may have been part of the advance guard for the current fashion capital obsession for chinoiserie--but it was remarkable if such garments made it through more than one washing without losing all sense of shape or shedding a seam. Then there was the cliched lacquer sold only in stores where guides were paid commission. Odd high points like tortoiseshell spectacle frames and close-to-solid silver bracelets gave the consummate shopper something to look at-though it is noticeable that such items are now harder to find.

While Hanoi might be stronger for art galleries, architecture, intellectualism and culture in general, it probably comes as no surprise that the current wave of store-based entrepreneurial activity and innovation, as well as sourcing and manufacturing, is being done almost exclusively in Ho Chi Minh City.

One of the innovators with the brightest future is surely the quietly ambitious Sylvie Tran Ha, a 32-year-old Viet Kieu from the US who left Ho Chi Minh City as a child and revisited for the first time about two years ago when her banker husband was transferred to Tokyo. If Vietnam has a fashion industry, then Sylvie Tran Ha is it. At her store, SXS, at 87 Pasteur in downtown Ho Chi Minh City, George Michael croons over the speakers, there's a beautiful black-and-white photograph of Kate Moss among others, and super little design touches which immediately confirm that the owner has her own, very appealing style.

Sylvie trained as a designer in New York before studying for an MBA in London where she also worked for the High Street clothing retail chain River Island, so brings business sense and marketing savvy as well as her creativity to SXS.

Getting back into her own culture is hard enough, but fashion pioneering is even tougher. She teaches her 17 staffers fashion English and exposes them to Elsa Klensch videos, as well as teaching basic pattern-cutting and design. "But there are skills here and my staff are very eager to learn," she explained.

Also frustrating for Sylvie is her reliance on imported fabrics because the quality of textiles in Vietnam is generally not up to international standards. Factories are not forward-thinking enough to work in the small quantities she can currently handle; she rarely makes more than 20 items in one style, or more than 80 pieces of one fabric.

These small runs are good news for customers-many of whom are local Vietnamese-keeping the store fresh with new lines every few weeks.

Sensitivity to texture is obvious throughout her work, but perhaps the most immediately appealing group in her constantly evolving collection is the traditional Chinese brocades she makes into slim-fitting pants and slinky little cropped tops. Taking fabrics 'out of context' is how she describes her work, with plans later this year to sell brocade peacoats teamed with suede and leather.

Doing something similar (especially in the use of imported Chinese brocades) but with its own slightly older and larger market is Tropic, close by on Le Thanh Ton (there is a second branch at Saigon Superbowl). Situated near some of the better tailors and embroidery specialists in the city, the store opened in early 1997 and with its more specifically Vietnamese twist, it has gained attention for improving on the styling of more traditional clothing. Calf-length shapely linen dresses with traditional Vietnamese center-fastenings and chic little minis made up from lengths of Cham weaving more normally utilized for long sarong-style skirts are two of the most compelling examples of this trend. Fabrics are almost all imported, however, and there are some great items with entirely European roots, clearly inspired by everyone from long-deceased French designers (Jean Patou-type neck lines) to newsworthy Italians (Montana-style kick pleat jacket). Children's and men's lines are also available. Like SXS, no garment is repeated more than 20 times across 5 sizes.

Stores like these, anxious to increase their garment runs to introduce economies of scale, are finding outlets for their products in trendy stores like Zakka (23 Dong Khoi Street). Not everything in here is a must-have; Vietnamese shoes, for example, have a long way to go, and some of the bags look decidedly dated, but there is a great, new understanding of service. Furthermore, if Tropic or SXS have themselves run out of a style or size, there's every chance that Zakka will still be stocking it.

Dong Khoi has long been the center of shopping in Ho Chi Minh City and is the street chosen by one of the country's most successful popular singers, Nhung, for her beautiful store called Heritage (53 Dong Khoi Street) which looks more like a gallery than a retail space. Nhung, who can often be seen in the store during the early evening, is originally from Hanoi and breaks the Ho Chi Minh City trend a little by sourcing and manufacturing in the capital city because her contacts are there. She has found someone to create simple but stylish silver jewelry, trendy lacquer in fashionable styles and shades and great reproduction ceramics, whether for decoration or for the table. Also sourcing great reproduction ceramics (what a pleasure when stores don't pretend that they're selling originals) is Les Epices at 25 Dong Khoi Street. Not everything at this store is a must-have either; wooden animals for children and wicker baskets containing coffee, jams and local liqueurs lack finesse, but there are still plenty of items of interest here. Maximum attention is paid to ensuring smiling service and scrupulous packing for easy transportation home.

Rather than sourcing from existing factories, in a take on the "I-liked-the-product-so-much-I bought-the-company" pitch, women like Dinh Thi Huong Nga own their own factories and design everything for their own shops, additionally manufacturing on behalf of other companies. At her store on 60 Ngo Duc Ke Street, Nga sells beautiful and inexpensive wood items, from funky business-card holders and tissue-box covers to CD boxes, stylish drawer units which come in round, oval or square shapes, classic pen boxes and funky lids for kitchen jars. Nga also works in recycled glassware and lacquer, both decorative and functional, in bright colors and bold shapes.

There are unique shopping experiences to be had in Hanoi as well. Khai Silk (121 Nguyen Thai Hoc Street) seems to go from strength to strength as Mr. Khai, who pads around his beautifully conceived and beautifully smelling store in bare feet and dressed only in black, designs his own fabrics and works with local factories to build on quality. He clearly loves everything about fabric from drape and flow to texture and color.

Originally a tailoring business run by Mr. Khai's family, the store now additionally sells made-to-measure clothes and copious accessories as well as some creative lines in home furnishings. His cosseting silk body bags, which sit snugly inside sleeping bags or provide for a little indulgence on long train and plane journeys, are one of his bestsellers. The top floor of his Hanoi flagship store, not specifically open to the public unless one asks, is entirely given over to fabrics of beautiful quality which may be bought in lengths and not only for on-premise tailoring. There are still plenty of older-style designs, but his work in silk knits and shot-silk pantsuits in particular are entirely modern. This summer, Mr. Khai decided that it was time to have a presence in Ho Chi Minh City and now runs a similarly tasteful store at 98 Mac Thi Buoi Street.

Soon to begin selling in Ho Chi Minh City is dynamic Hong Konger Christina Yu. A former lawyer, she has lived in Hanoi for only four years but has already recognized the potential for taking traditional materials or designs and bringing them up a few levels. She is currently concentrating on bags for the export market but is already prototyping hats and shoes. Christina visits villages with particular skills in embroidery or crochet, for example, and offers the challenge of modernizing such work through creative shapes, fabrics and finishes. Wooden beads more normally seen in the front seat of a taxi are converted into fashionable little bags with finishing details such as bold white buffalo horn handles. Black velvet with embroidery is cut into arty shapes and given the most exciting carved wooden handles imaginable.

Christina's company, Ipa-Nima, has its showroom at 30B Nguyen Huu Huan in Hanoi, but it surely will not be long before she's joining forces with designers like Sylvie Tran Ha to create some extremely exciting concepts and collections in Ho Chi Minh City.

It is encouraging to see these entrepreneurs providing products that reflect not only their own cultured taste, but also the ways in which local raw materials and skills can be utilized to create high-quality consumer items.

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10/27/01 Ed Note:

Ipa-Nima has moved and is now located at:
59G Hai Ba Trung
Hoan Kiem District
Hanoi, Vietnam
Tel: (84 4) 942 1872 / 3 / 4 / 7
Fax: (84 4) 942 1875 / 6
Yves-Victor Liccioni, General Manager

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Published on 12/1/97