In vogue: A haute couture creation by designer Cong Khanh inspired by red flamingoes.

HA NOI  (VNS) — Hundreds of new items by 23 designers from all over the country will be showcased at the upcoming Viet Nam Fashion Week, held in Ha Noi between December 22 and 25.

The designers include well-known Minh Hanh and Cong Khanh as well as Tang Thanh Cong, Quang Nhat and Ha Duy, new faces from the Viet Nam Fashion Star contest.

They will display their ready-to-wear designs from December 22 to 24, while 16 will join the first-ever haute couture fashion night on December 25. A fashion fair selling all the items will take place at Tan My Design, 61 Hang Gai Street, on December 26.

"This is a new feature of the annual fashion week," said designer Minh Hanh, an organising member, at a press conference yesterday, "We sell the designs to make sure that the items meet the taste of domestic customers, the very first challenge of any fashion product by Vietnamese designers."

Hanh explained that the Vietnamese fashion market in the past few years has been in need of high-fashion and haute couture products in addition to traditional ready-to-wear items.

"Vietnamese designers have to create for these two growing genres to develop the domestic fashion industry," she said.

She explained that only experienced designers could work in haute couture, as the products require delicate care, special materials and unique designs.

Le Nguyen Ngoc, general director of Viet Thang Garment Corporation, said items by the company's designers had no new features this year.

"We are just trying to find new materials to design more applicable products [to wear everyday rather than just for catwalk shows] for domestic customers," Ngoc said.

Chula, a Spanish fashion trademark that opened in Viet Nam in 2004, will be the only foreign design house to attend the show.

Chula's ready-to-wear designs bear images of racetracks, tennis and football while its haute couture designs were inspired by the magnificent landscape of the Grand Canyon in the US.

The show will also gather 40 famous models like Miss Viet Nam 2010 Ngoc Han, second runner-up at Miss Viet Nam 2012 Hoang Anh, Super Model 2011 Vuong Thu Phuong and Super Model 2013 Lan Khue.

The one-hour shows will be held at 8pm at Studio 14 inside the Viet Nam Television headquarters complex, 844 La Thanh Street. — VNS