VietNamNet Bridge – Twenty-six famous ao dai (Vietnamese traditional long dress) designers will participate in the sixth annual Áo Dài Festival in HCM City to be held from March 2-17.

Miss Universe H’Hen Niê (seventh from right) and 15 celebrities will be ambassadors for the sixth annual Áo Dài Festival in HCM City to be held from March 2-17. Photo Thu Hang

Miss Universe H’Hen Niê and 15 celebrities have been chosen as ambassadors for the festival with the theme “Charming Áo Dài HCM City.”

The event will open with a fashion show with 80 models and artists showing new collections of ao dai by famous designers such as Si Hoang, Lien Huong, Viet Hung, Huu La La and Brian Vo on Saturday evening (March 2) on Nguyen Hue Walking Street.

It will be followed by a parade of 3,000 people dressed in ao dai on Nguyen Hue Walking Street on Sunday morning (March 3).

The event also includes the “Charming Áo Dài HCM City 2019” contest from January 15 to March 3 and an online photo contest “The Beautiful Áo Dài” from January 15 to March 10 with an aim to honour the beauty and grace of the ao dai.

Ao dai fabric exhibitions will be held at the Ao Dai Museum in District 9 and Ao Dai Exhibition in District 1 from March 2-17.

The “Việt Nam- Japan Cultural Exchange: Áo Dài and Tsumami Craft” workshop and a seminar on traditional ao dai fabrics will also be held during the festival.

The Ao Dai Festival is one of the city’s unique cultural and tourism events that promote the city as a friendly, safe and exciting tourist destination, according to Nguyen Thi Anh Hoa, deputy director of the city’s Department of Tourism, the festival’s organiser.

Nearly 300 tailor shops and fashion houses will offer a 5-50 per cent discount on ao dai in March, Hoa said at a press meeting held yesterday (Feb 26).

State officials, workers and local residents are encouraged to wear ao dai in March, she said.

Miss Universe H’Hen Niê said that as the festival’s ambassador she would try her best to spread the message of the festival: “I love áo dài.”

Last year, the event attracted 100,000 local and international visitors. More than 1,200 new ao dai designs were introduced to the public during the festival.

Source: VNS