I’ve been dreaming of an interational trade booth for our fashion brand and how I will style it to get us known. So here it is. And hopefully I’ll get the chance to make this reality someday, because Vietnamese apparel products are actually competitive.

This is a way of introducing unique patterned fabric samples and making an impression of the handfeel of new materials in contrast to that of common ones like canvas, cotton, CVC, etc. It was the setting of a local fashion labour exhibition back in 2020.

This kind of setting is inspiring to me firstly because of the vibrant colours shown here that help draw attention, secondly because of its compactness – we can definitely carry these sheets anywhere with ease as it won’t take up much room in our luggage, and thirdly because of the marked contrast among different materials that it can demonstrate.

The use of Vietnamese hanging palm-leaf conical hats for lighting purpose will make a traditional statement and help the description of new materials get noticed.

Couture designs speaks loud of the creativity capacity of a fashion brand, but are unfortunately too expensive to be shown at just any foreign trade booth, so it makes more sense for them to be introduced through images like how Karl Lagerfeld displayed his collection (as shown below). But I’d rather switch from luxurious chandeliers to conical hat lights to keep the booth generally cohesive.

It is also crucial to demonstrate how easy it is to get Vietnamese elegance blended into international fashion. For this purpose, the traditional palm leaf conical hat can be the perfect example. Pictures of how Vietnamese and foreigners style conical hats (both in their fashionable shoots and their daily life) can be displayed around a real swaying conical hat on a small statue like this, so that people can interact with them. It won’t take much space, but it get observers engaged because the assortments are not shown inside just a boring book that no one feels curious about. Moreover, a statue like this can also be a trigger to get people take selfies in the booth and get it on social media.