Travellive 5 - 2018

interview
* You have always chosen to play your own game.
Do you feel alone being a trendsetter?
My decision is not participating in Fashion
Week so people can see that my brand is not
influenced by any organization. I have created
my own collections, organized my own catwalk
shows, and everything else is simply a halo
effect. I have never felt the need to depend on
any brand, label, or stage to promote myself. I
love being a trendsetter and I am happy with
my solitariness. As you can see, for the past 10
years, the trends I've created that put a deep
impact in the fashion world and I truly embrace
the bold steps that I took. What matters is how
much effort you put into your creativity.
A BEHIND THE SCENES STORY OF THE
HOTTEST FASHION SHOW OF SUMMER 2018.
"Once beauty is based on the exchange of benefits, it
loses its value." The life of designer Do Manh Cuong
has always been a "mystery", and he is determined
to continue to keep it hidden from the eyes of the
public. If there is something he never shies away from
however, it's dialogue about beauty.
The inevitable success of being a
trendsetter
* For those who love to dress in your designs,
what kind of statement are they making about
themselves? And do the messages they want to
convey change over time?
My clients represent a huge part of my
personality. From Diem My, Ngo Thanh Van,
Ha Kieu Anh, to Linh Nga, Giang My and
Ha Tang, they themselves are a manifesto
of beauty. They have never spoken about
what it means to be beautiful, and neither
have my designs tried to convey that. I want
to avoid ostentatiousness at all cost. A design
piece is timeless or not, it depends on others'
perception, and of course, my strong personal
work ethics and deep understanding of what it
takes to thrive in this competitive industry and
leave a mark, play an essential role.
* Resorts are becoming a popular show venue for
collections. Is it a trend, an intent, or is it simply
a partnership?
For me, it is more of a personal choice than
a trend. If it's a trend, you have to be able to
find many others who are doing the same
thing, but I'm pretty sure that no one else has
traveled down that path. I'm still the first and
the only fashion designer in Vietnam to have
been able to pull it off.
Fashion is a concept related to beauty, but
once beauty is based on the exchange of
benefits, it loses its value. You can see that in
my recent shows, no brands or organizations
had much impact on my work. Few people are