VietNamNet Bridge – Artisan Do Dinh Duoc from Trieu Khuc village, Tan Trieu commune, Thanh Tri district, Hanoi is called the “king” of Hanoi brocade because the old man has created a unique brocade weaving technique.

Artisan Do Dinh Duoc

Duoc said the difference between brocade of Hanoi and other regions is shown by the mixture of colours, patterns, designs and products’ durability.

Brocade made in mountainous regions is very colourful, featuring dazzling bright reds, blues and yellows, while Hanoians like brocade pieces of gentle and dark colours, with sophisticated and lively patterns and designs.

Understanding Hanoians, Duoc mixed original colours used by mountainous people to create new ones which satisfy the tastes of Hanoians. He also created new patterns and designs. On Duoc’s brocade pieces, butterflies and flowers are very lively. The artisan also applied modern techniques and machines to produce perfect brocade pieces.

He said each brocade piece is the product of creativeness, labour, and traditional culture. It takes a long time for Duoc to finish a nice brocade piece because he has to seek new ideas, select suitable materials, seek colours and weave.

“When I designed a brocade piece with butterflies, I travelled everywhere for months to catch thousands of butterflies to choose the best ones to make sketches,” Duoc said.

Thousands of Duoc’s brocade pieces have been sent to exhibitions and festivals and highly applauded by international friends.

Trieu Khuc village has been known for brocade weaving for centuries. Duoc was born in a family which has been involved in weaving for several generations. At the age of 5, Duoc could differentiate between different kinds of fibre and he gradually fell in love with this traditional occupation. But it was not until he became a student at the Hanoi Art College that he really discovered his passion for this job.

He travelled around the country to get inspiration. He lived with ethnic minority people like Muong, Dao, Tay in northern mountainous provinces for months to learn about their culture, weaving as well as colour mixing techniques, which helped him a lot in creating brocade patterns and colours.

Graduating from the Hanoi Art College in 1964, Duoc was kept to work as a lecturer at the college and he continued to learn about brocade. In 1979, he retired to spend all his time researching and producing unique brocade pieces.

(Source: GD&XH)