Sunday School by Trish Le
The Story
Sunday School was inspired by my experience growing up in a Vietnamese Catholic household. At my Sunday school, students had to wear a plain white traditional Vietnamese ao dai, which did not allow for any individuality to shine through. For this project, I wanted to modernize this traditional Vietnamese silhouette without culturally appropriating it so that Gen Z consumers from all backgrounds could wear this visually-striking collection.
The Publication
Sunday School: The Modern Ao Dai is a publication that I made that expands on the timeline and evolution of the ao dai, a traditional Vietnamese garment usually worn for special occasions, such as Lunar New Year, weddings, funerals, etc. I highlight specific instances of cultural appropriation of the dress versus times where designers successfully paid homage to the dress whilst modernizing it for the next generation. Lastly, I showcase my own designs that I would interpret as modernized ao dai's.
As you scroll down, you can see my attempt at modernizing the ao dai. Models are Alex Yeh and Ashley Benhayoun.