Several Vietnam celebrities have been criticised for wearing modifications of the country's traditional long dress, the Ao Dai.
Miss Vietnam 2008 Thuy Dung was the target of public outcry after wearing a brocade formal long dress at the recent Spring-Summer Fashion Show in Rome.
The costume was created by Thuy Nguyen. It had dragon designs and sharp lines, off the shoulder and paired with half trousers. Dung also wore a conical Vietnamese hat.
Miss Vietnam Thuy Dung in a formalised long dress
Critics said the design was a “desecration" of the traditional Ao Dai long dress and was too Chinese in style.Designer Viet Hung told DTiNews, “We should minimise foreign motifs. Inappropriate changes may fail to convey the beauty of Vietnamese traditional costumes.”
Costume researcher Tran Quang Duc, author of “Ngan nam ao mu” (A Thousand Years of Costume), said Dung’s dress resembled Van Cam brocade, of Suzhou, China.
Miss Vietnam 2006 Mai Phuong Thuy had also caused public controversy for wearing a too thin long dress in fashion photo shoots.
Mai Phuong Thuy faced loss of her Miss Vietnam title for provocative Ao Dai
The photos captured Thuy donning a sleek and transparent white Ao Dai in different provocative poses. They were criticised as inappropriate to feminine beauty. She almost lost her title as a result.Several famous artists were also involved in long dress scandals - Diva Hong Nhung, singer Doan Trang, singer Mai Khoi, and model Ngoc Quyen.
Hoang My criticised for too revealing Ao Dai
Mai Khoi’s long dress
