Strike a pose: A design by Chula will be presented at the fashion week's Ready-to-Wear show tonight. — Photo courtesy organisation board.

HA NOI (VNS) — Viet Nam Fashion Week Autumn&Winter 2015 opened last night at Viet Nam Television's Studio 14 featuring six local designers.

The first ready to wear show of the week charmed fashionistas with collections by two designers Phuong Bui and Lan Huong.

From the domestic brand Elise, designer Phuong Bui showed a black monochromatic collection highlighting lace motifs.

Phuong Bui uses office fashion as a starting point to bring together a sense of femininity and a strong edgy character. This season's collection is said to veer a bit off course, trying to bridge the gap between office and street style.

Women in silk and hand-stitched embroidery will forever be running motifs of beauty. That's why veteran Lan Huong has made them the core of her designs. Her runway will likely see traditional Vietnamese silks accented by meticulous embroidery.

"I had wild sunflower patterns embroidered in the fabrics to honour natural beauty," said Huong.

The event, organised according to tier, has three nights of ready to wear and one night for haute couture. The week will see nearly 800 designs stomp across its runway and 18 Vietnamese and an Italian designer, Alda Satini, take final bows.

Six others will presented ready-to-wear collections last night.

Appearing at fashion week for the second time, Genviet continued with its iconic denim but used embroidery techniques and new washes to reimagine the popular material.

It's a difficult path to breathe new life into such a popular material, Genviet's road ahead remains arduous but rewarding.

The final night of ready to wear will be a Viet Nam debut for Italian Santini. The Florence-based designer will show a wool collection, perhaps very appropriate for Ha Noi's presently rainy and cool climate.

She will also run a collection on Sunday's haute couture night alongside Vietnamese designers Minh Hanh, Charming Lys, Lan Huong, Chula and Genviet.

"The Haute Couture collections are a creative challenge," said designer Minh Hanh, founder of Viet Nam Fashion Week.

"At present, famous fashion designers are moving slowly towards more haute couture. This trend expresses a need for unique styles for the individual. Haute couture is forecast to become more common in Viet Nam in the coming years," she said.

Viet Nam Fashion Week 2015 is an event run by the Vietnamese fashion industry. This week also marks the second time the Vietnamese and Italian Council of Fashion worked with Ha Noi's fashion week.

"The participation of Italian designers has become a constant feature of the event, and is a core effort of the Vietnamese and Italian Council of Fashion," said Natalia Sanginiti, charge d'affaires at the Italian embassy.

"Through this opportunity, Vietnamese and Italian designers can exchange ideas and make contacts at meetings and exhibitions at Casa Italia," she said.

"International collaboration with Italian designers, who come from renowned brands and a rich fashion heritage, are carefully organised by the Vietnamese fashion industry to integrate and rapidly develop to meet international standards and tastes." — VNS