Models present woollen creations by Belgium designer Christian Wijnants. His designs will be featured during the fashion show on October 17 in HCM City. – File Photo

HA NOI (VNS) — A fashion show featuring woollen creations by Vietnamese and foreign designers is set to wow audiences in HCM City on October 17.

 

Winner of the 2013 Project Runway Viet Nam, Hoang Minh Ha, will unveil his retro-inspired collection during the show, to take place at the White Palace Convention Centre.

Made primarily from wool and some other materials, Ha's designs have been inspired by the romantic trends of the 1970s and 1980s.

The fashion show will also see creations from Belgian designer Christian Wijnants, winner of the recent 2013 International Woolmark Prize.

Editor-in-chief of Vogue Italia and judge, Franca Sozzani, praised Wijnants creations as "flattering, feminine and sexy, a modern interpretation of wool."

In addition, the show will introduce some of the famous Australian Darnell collection consisting of unique vintages clothes and accessories.

Hailing from Pennsylvania in the US, Doris Darnell pursued her passion for vintage fashion items, accumulated over more than 70 years.

For Darnell, the social history behind the items is as important as the items themselves and preserving them and their stories for future generations became an important part of her passion.

Thanks to donations and gifts from her family's wide circle of friends around the world, Darnell's collection has grown significantly. Most of the items are accompanied by letters, photographs and stories linking them to the original owners or donors and often to the occasions to which they were worn.

In 2004, the collection was inherited by her goddaughter, who continued to expand the inventory to more than 5,500 pieces from 23 different countries. At present, the collection is the biggest private vintage clothing collection in Australia, including many pieces from internationally renowned designers.

Alongside the fashion show, an exhibition called "Grown in Australia, Made in Viet Nam" will be held to showcase woollen knitwear products made in Viet Nam using Australian wool as part of the Out of Viet Nam project.

Launched by Australia's The Woolmark Company (TWC) in 2012, the project has drawn 30 Vietnamese knitting enterprises, who are set to become TWC's partners.

Following the fashion show and exhibition in HCM City, a similar event will also be held in Ha Noi's Daewoo Hotel on October 19 as part of the celebration of 40th anniversary of Australia and Viet Nam ties. — VNS