VietNamNet Bridge - Quang Huy is the head designer of the Garment 10 Joint Stock Company, a popular brand among the professional crowd. The 32-year-old designer shares his experiences and the secret of his success in the fashion industry.

A design by Quang Huy

Could you tell me about the first prize you won in the Viet Nam Collection Grand Pix 2008 Competition?

This is the first and the only prize I’ve won until now. After the failure in 2003, I decided to register again the next year and won with the collection Cam Nhan Nhiet Doi (Tropical Feeling). Crochet techniques and cube forms that I had studied, pursued and featured in most of my designs during the three years I was working in HCM City were the golden key for a young designer like me to open the door to success.

I haven’t competed since then as I don’t want to become a prize hound. Winning first place in a large and professional competition like the Viet Nam Collection is an honour and satisfaction. I’ll try myself on the international catwalk when I feel confident in my ability.

You worked for several years in HCM City and collaborated with famous fashion brands and designers. Why did you come back to Ha Noi to become the head designer of Garment 10 Joint Stock Company?

I must admit that HCM City is a promising place for any talented designer because of its fashion trends, personal style, and huge consumption. Fashion lovers in HCM City require a lot from a designer. They want to be outstanding, beautiful and, in particular, unique. It means that their outfit is the only one or, at least, is produced in a limited number, which is a different attitude towards dress in comparison to Hanoians.

However, after years working as a free designer for Lega Fashion, Vera and as a teacher at Hong Bang University and the Association of Fine Arts, I returned to the capital because my life is attached to this land. Five years living and working in HCM City gave me many precious lessons and unforgettable moments. I have experienced difficult times in order to discover myself and seek the style for my designs. Now I want to try in another market and all of my designs are focused on the white collar crowd through collections launched by the company. New challenges and difficulties always attract me and I’m afraid of doing the same thing everyday.

It seems that you are satisfied with your career and position in the company, but does working within the company’s fixed criteria stunt a designer’s creativity and flexibility?

I don’t think so. Every fashion designer knows how to be creative within their limitations. The main purpose of the company is benefit and profit, so all pieces should be easy to wear, simple in style and ensure appropriateness and convenience. The price for each item, as a result, is cheaper than a custom-made outfit.

Apart from the time I spend working for the company, I like to challenge myself in national fashion shows. A professional designer is the person who always creates new fashion trends through his latest collection, and the latter must be more beautiful and special than the previous one. This pressure always makes me feel excited.

Currently, I’m busy finishing the ten designs in my collection, which will be showcased in the 10th anniversary of the Vietnam Collection Grand Pix 2008. The ten designers who won first prize in the competition over ten years will introduce their latest designs on September 29 in Ha Noi. We all know that this is the unspoken competition among winners, and the winner will become the best of the best.

Most Vietnamese fashion designers, as you said, are very young, creative and flexible, but why can’t they step on to the victory dais in the international competition?

In the countries where the fashion industry is more developed, there are companies in charge of market research and information exchange. This information supplies market trends and information about consumption to designers and helps them get on the right track. The better designers do, the more products they sell.

In our country, fashion designers are forced to do all jobs, from market study and public relations to performances and shows in trade fairs. They find it hard to focus on designing their work because there are tonnes of jobs waiting for them. The shortage of specialisation and labour division is the biggest problem for our fashion industry, due to its adverse affect on fashion trends. Each designer makes their collection through his own judgement of the market, which leads to confusion in fashion trends.

What do you think about the market investigation work of the domestic enterprises?

This is an incomprehensible process. There’s no agreement or connection among working groups, so the results are sometimes wrong. Maybe they should share their opinions, divide labour and focus on their duties. This task takes time, but it’s necessary to work in and to enhance this industry.

It sounds like fashion is your only interest, isn’t it?

Not really. I have a little bit of a strange hobby, which my guy friends always refuse to accompany me on; I love to go around the markets and buy rolls of cloth as untapped materials for my next collection. My parents usually complain about the messy rooms full of cloth and fashion accessories.

Black coffee brings me inspiration, even when I’m in bad mood. I spend most of my free time sitting in the cafeteria and always order this drink. Looking at people passing by hastily and sipping bittersweet coffee helps me refresh my soul and energy, believe me.

(Source: VNS)