Women’s Clothing from the Nguyen Dynasty, which consists of over 10 illustrations in chibi style, aims to shed more light on Vietnam costumes during the historical period. (Photo courtesy of Kris Nguyen) Hanoi (VNS/VNA) - An art project featuring typical women’s costumesduring the Nguyen Dynasty (1802-1945) was created during the social distancingperiod by Nguyen Quoc Tri, a.k.a Kris Nguyen, an illustrator in Binh Thanhdistrict in Ho Chi Minh City.
Women’s Clothing from the Nguyen Dynasty, which consists of over 10illustrations in chibi style, aims to shed more light on Vietnam’s costumesduring the historical period.
“Many people think that the costumes of the Nguyen Dynasty were not diverse.The most widely known clothing during this period is traditional five-flaptunic with tight-fitting sleeves, the predecessor of the current ao dai (Vietnamese traditional longdress),” Kris said.
“In fact, they were truly varied. Different regions in the nation had differentways of dressing and variations on five-flap shirts.
“Therefore, I hope to offer another outlook and better understanding of thecostumes in this era via this project,” he added.
The 24-year-old illustrator explained that he has chosen chibi style to depictthe clothing in a simplified manner that enables the viewers to easily accessthem without getting bored.
Women’s Clothing from the Nguyen Dynasty was completed within amonth. The first five illustrations featuring the special forms were finishedand introduced in the first two weeks and the rest done in the last week.
To ensure the accuracy of the costumes, Kris simplified the small parts of thepatterns and focused on depicting their styles. At the same time, he consultedmany reputable sources of information and specialists with thorough knowledgeof history.
The most difficult thing for Kris is changing the mindset of most viewers.
“Some people still think that the ancient Vietnamese costumes look like thoseof Chinese or that they don’t look authentic Vietnamese. It is inevitable as Vietnamhas been through a period of severe cultural fracture.
“So I needed to create a new series of images, simple and receptive, that couldconvince even the most demanding people,” he said.
Among women’s clothing from the Nguyen Dynasty, Kris is most impressed with thefive-flap tunic with tight-fitting sleeves, the simplest outfit and also thepredecessor of modern ao dai.
“The coordination and mix of the accessories and hair style of the women inthis outfit was extremely diverse. Moreover, different regions have differentvariations. The variety in pattern design is also one of the things that makethis plain-looking outfit so unique,” he said.
At the moment, Women’s Clothing from theNguyen Dynasty could not be commercially exploited so Kris plans todevelop the illustrations into a set of postcards that could be sold online assoon as the pandemic is under control.
A descendant of Lord Nguyen Phuc Khoat, the 8th lord of the Nguyen Dynasty, TonThat Minh Khoi, highly appraises the cute drawing style featured in the artproject, as it enables historical topics to become close and accessible to themass audience.
He also commented that the project has been consulted with clear and reliablesources of information, enabling the viewers to envision the clothing ofVietnamese women from all walks of life in different regions during the NguyenDynasty and therefore to have a vivid visual reference source on studying thematter.
“Kris’s project has reflected the diversity in the clothing of the NguyenDynasty, and at the same time, created a premise for further similar studies. Imuch anticipate the project featuring men’s clothing also by Kris,” Khoi told Phap Luat Thanh Pho Ho Chi Minh (HCMCity Law) e-newspaper.
Women’s Clothing from the Nguyen Dynasty is not the first projectof the graduate of Ton Duc Thang University with a passion for culture andtradition. Earlier, Kris had created many art projects featuring Vietnameseculture infused with modern colours.
His style has been greatly influenced by Mai Trung Thu and Le Pho, two laterenowned Vietnamese painters who paved the foundation of contemporaryVietnamese art.
Besides working as a graphic designer and illustrator in HCM City, Kris is alsothe co-founder of Hoa Nien, a business on Vietnamese ancient clothing, whichhas become his source of inspiration to study and develop his art projects.
“I have had a strong passion for Asian cultures, particularly those of Japan,China and Vietnam, since I was a student. The further I have studied, the moreI have found out that many issues in Vietnamese culture have rarely been knownto the public.
My art projects therefore aim to provide an outlook on Vietnam as a wealthy,colourful and vibrant nation,” he said.
Kris also revealed that he would create more projects featuring Vietnameseroyal and folk tales in the future, the highlights of which are the costumesand the lifestyles of ancient Vietnamese people, to tell the stories of the olddays to the young people./.
Women’s Clothing from the Nguyen Dynasty, which consists of over 10illustrations in chibi style, aims to shed more light on Vietnam’s costumesduring the historical period.
“Many people think that the costumes of the Nguyen Dynasty were not diverse.The most widely known clothing during this period is traditional five-flaptunic with tight-fitting sleeves, the predecessor of the current ao dai (Vietnamese traditional longdress),” Kris said.
“In fact, they were truly varied. Different regions in the nation had differentways of dressing and variations on five-flap shirts.
“Therefore, I hope to offer another outlook and better understanding of thecostumes in this era via this project,” he added.
The 24-year-old illustrator explained that he has chosen chibi style to depictthe clothing in a simplified manner that enables the viewers to easily accessthem without getting bored.
Women’s Clothing from the Nguyen Dynasty was completed within amonth. The first five illustrations featuring the special forms were finishedand introduced in the first two weeks and the rest done in the last week.
To ensure the accuracy of the costumes, Kris simplified the small parts of thepatterns and focused on depicting their styles. At the same time, he consultedmany reputable sources of information and specialists with thorough knowledgeof history.
The most difficult thing for Kris is changing the mindset of most viewers.
“Some people still think that the ancient Vietnamese costumes look like thoseof Chinese or that they don’t look authentic Vietnamese. It is inevitable as Vietnamhas been through a period of severe cultural fracture.
“So I needed to create a new series of images, simple and receptive, that couldconvince even the most demanding people,” he said.
Among women’s clothing from the Nguyen Dynasty, Kris is most impressed with thefive-flap tunic with tight-fitting sleeves, the simplest outfit and also thepredecessor of modern ao dai.
“The coordination and mix of the accessories and hair style of the women inthis outfit was extremely diverse. Moreover, different regions have differentvariations. The variety in pattern design is also one of the things that makethis plain-looking outfit so unique,” he said.
At the moment, Women’s Clothing from theNguyen Dynasty could not be commercially exploited so Kris plans todevelop the illustrations into a set of postcards that could be sold online assoon as the pandemic is under control.
A descendant of Lord Nguyen Phuc Khoat, the 8th lord of the Nguyen Dynasty, TonThat Minh Khoi, highly appraises the cute drawing style featured in the artproject, as it enables historical topics to become close and accessible to themass audience.
He also commented that the project has been consulted with clear and reliablesources of information, enabling the viewers to envision the clothing ofVietnamese women from all walks of life in different regions during the NguyenDynasty and therefore to have a vivid visual reference source on studying thematter.
“Kris’s project has reflected the diversity in the clothing of the NguyenDynasty, and at the same time, created a premise for further similar studies. Imuch anticipate the project featuring men’s clothing also by Kris,” Khoi told Phap Luat Thanh Pho Ho Chi Minh (HCMCity Law) e-newspaper.
Women’s Clothing from the Nguyen Dynasty is not the first projectof the graduate of Ton Duc Thang University with a passion for culture andtradition. Earlier, Kris had created many art projects featuring Vietnameseculture infused with modern colours.
His style has been greatly influenced by Mai Trung Thu and Le Pho, two laterenowned Vietnamese painters who paved the foundation of contemporaryVietnamese art.
Besides working as a graphic designer and illustrator in HCM City, Kris is alsothe co-founder of Hoa Nien, a business on Vietnamese ancient clothing, whichhas become his source of inspiration to study and develop his art projects.
“I have had a strong passion for Asian cultures, particularly those of Japan,China and Vietnam, since I was a student. The further I have studied, the moreI have found out that many issues in Vietnamese culture have rarely been knownto the public.
My art projects therefore aim to provide an outlook on Vietnam as a wealthy,colourful and vibrant nation,” he said.
Kris also revealed that he would create more projects featuring Vietnameseroyal and folk tales in the future, the highlights of which are the costumesand the lifestyles of ancient Vietnamese people, to tell the stories of the olddays to the young people./.
VNA
