Vietnamese-American designer Chloe Dao gets a turn at the judges' table

Revealing talent: Fashion designer Pham Hoang Minh introduces his design at the pre-qualification round in HCM City. — VNS Photo Van Dat

HCM CITY (VNS)— Vietnamese-American fashion designer Chloe Dao, winner of television reality show Project Runway USA in 2005, will be one of five judges for the reality show Project Runway Viet Nam.

The show is organised by Multimedia Company, which also is responsible for the contest Viet Nam's Next Top Model.

Other judges for Project Runway Viet Nam will be model and actress Ngo Thanh Van, fashion designer Do Manh Cuong, former lecturer at HCM City Architecture University Tung Leo, and editor-in-chief of Harper's Bazaar, Cosmopolitan and Her World magazines, Tran Nguyen Thien Huong.

Speaking at a press meeting on Wednesday, Chloe Dao said she accepted the job to share her experiences of seven years ago on the Emmy-nominated Project Runway series.

"I used to be a contestant in the US, and I hope I can help the competitors," said the designer.

Chloe, who nurtured her passion of fashion design during her childhood, launched her own fashion brand in Houston, Texas before joining the Project Runway contest.

Local contestants will have the opportunity to work with Chloe as she mentors them throughout the series.

"As a Vietnamese-American, I am honoured to be able to represent both cultures in the fashion industry. I'm excited to be a judge and not a contestant this time around. I am also extremely excited to see what Vietnamese designers will bring to Project Runway," she said.

The pre-qualification round was held in HCM City on March 14-15 and in Ha Noi on March 16-17.

The judges selected 12 outstanding designers for the eight-episode reality show, which will air on VTV3 beginning on April 28 between 8pm and 11pm every Sunday.

All candidates will be accompanied by fashion models, who will compete in a separate model contest.

During the pre-qualification round, the designer contestants had to sketch on paper a design in 30 minutes and then make the outfit with two metres of materials given by the organisers.

Project Runway, which has been adopted in more than 100 countries, was broadcast for the first time in the US in 2004.

Besides receiving valuable prizes and career opportunities, the winner as well as two runner-ups of the contest will visit Paris. — VNS