Vietnam-born French fashion designer Patrick Pham is set to present his Ngoc Vien Dong (Pearl of the Far East) collection, inspired by traditional fabrics of his home country, on the catwalk of the Paris Haute Couture Fall/Winter 2019/2020 fashion week on Tuesday.

The fashion week, taking place from June 30 to July 4 in the French capital, is showcasing collections from such luxury fashion houses as Chanel, Givenchy, Giorgio Armani, and Christian Dior.

Patrick Pham, who was born and raised in Ho Chi Minh City before moving to France at the age of eight, drew inspiration for the collection from his recent return to Vietnam after nearly three decades spent overseas.

Pearl of the Far East includes 30 haute couture designs made primarily from ‘lanh My A’ and ‘tho cam’ – two types of fabric indigenous to Vietnam.

Lanh My A is delicate cloth woven from the finest silk fibers by artisans in the Tan Chau Silk Village in the southern province of An Giang.

Known for its jet-black color and luxurious shine achieved through a tedious process of dying the silk in the sap of a native fruit, lanh My A is made even more precious by the fact that the age-old silk-making craft is on the brink of extinction in Vietnam.

Meanwhile, tho cam is a popular fabric worn by members of ethnic minorities in the mountainous regions of Vietnam.

The fabrics are shuttle-woven and richly decorated with colorful patterns, providing warmth and protection for wearers thanks to its incredible durability.

Pham said he was drawn to lanh My A after discovering its unique compatibility with the noble beauty of classic European costumes.

For tho cam, Pham said he had placed a special order for Vietnamese artisans to weave a customized set of fabrics with his own ideas for the patterns.

Costumes made from the designer’s tho cam will be worn with Italian leather, breathing new life into the traditional Vietnamese fabric, he said.

Pham’s Pearl of the Far East collection will also feature royalty-inspired wedding dresses made from silk woven from the fine fibers of the ‘luc binh’ (water hyacinth) plant popular in the Mekong Delta of Vietnam.

Patrick Pham describes himself as a “self-taught designer” who found passion for fashion and “embarked on designing and creating his first dress” at the age of 20.

Pham’s designs place focus on colors and fabrics and are often described as “both chic and sexy," “colorful and flowery."

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