Fall 2025: Phan Huy's Fragments of Memories

Phan Huy's inaugural haute couture presentation was a meditation on identity and memory translated through couture's exacting standards.

The Vietnamese designer presented thirty-six looks with each garment carrying the weight of his childhood memories in rural Vietnam: the warmth of sunbaked soil, the gentle rustle of bamboo leaves, the constant hum of cicadas and children's laughter echoing across rice fields.

The architect-turned-designer spent eight months developing his collection, finding inspiration in day to day items such as the iconic nón lá (conical hat), now reimagined through intricate crystal-encrusted cord-knotting and the Quat Giay (paper fan), now placed on the chest, waist and hips as decorative highlights.

He abstracted the Quat nan (split-Bamboo fan) and reinterpreted the design structure of Bay ca and Cai nam (two different types of fish traps), whilst also incorporating net weaving craft. 

His atelier’s technical mastery manifested most brilliantly in signature color-shifting elastic mesh, creating ethereal light effects that align perfectly with couture's embrace of weightless textures. Combined with 3D layering and sculptural draping, natural forms—tree trunks, straw stacks, drifting kites—transform into wearable architecture that moves with profound grace.

The collection's chromatic palette of earthy tones reflected authentic Vietnamese rural tones reinforcing the designer's commitment to cultural authenticity.