Vietnamese Fashion in the Middle East

Building a Vietnamese fashion design community

Although only established in 2024, The Viet Concept (TVC) has quickly become one of the prestigious Vietnamese designer fashion retail platforms in the Middle East. TVC is currently a bridge for 24 Vietnamese brands and customers in Dubai and Saudi Arabia, including prominent names such as White Plan, Hobb, Das La Vie, Huelleyrose, Must Have, Caostu, PHAM studio, Lassy, Keira Tong, Do Long, Lecia, Calista...

TVC founder Le Kim Thuy Trang, a famous person in the hotel industry, is also a loyal follower of Vietnamese domestic fashion. The reason why this 9X from Phu Yen (formerly, now Dak Lak) confidently brings Vietnamese fashion to the world comes from the compliments of foreign friends and colleagues and the times she bought clothes for them when she visited home. In addition, Trang's life experience, understanding of the culture and lifestyle of women in the Middle East region was cultivated during the 3 years she lived and worked in Dubai.

Thời trang Việt ở Trung Đông- Ảnh 1. — Caostu fashion in The Viet Concept's Dubai market launch collection

"I am proud to have successfully introduced many made-in-Vietnam fashion brands in Dubai and sold products at the right price; initially creating a community of designers and lovers of high-quality designs from independent Vietnamese designers," Thuy Trang shared. The 9X commented that the UAE (United Arab Emirates) and Saudi Arabia are two countries with great purchasing power and a vibrant consumer pace. Dubai has the advantage of being both a rapidly growing consumer destination and less competition in the niche fashion segment. Only about 10% of the population in this region are native Emirati, the rest are multi-ethnic communities from England, Russia, Ukraine, India, Pakistan, Philippines... The aesthetic taste of Middle Eastern women is changing diversely, from "modern modest" (modern modest fashion suitable for Muslim women, characterized by multi-layered clothing, covering the ankles, long sleeves and high necks) to free and liberal fashion. These are favorable conditions for Vietnamese designs to be accepted.

Thời trang Việt ở Trung Đông- Ảnh 2. — Designer Tra Linh and models at the show in Dubai in June

However, to achieve the current progress is a process of continuous trial and error, constantly putting oneself in the perspective of the locals to have appropriate marketing strategies. In addition, the "super fast" packaging, shipping and delivery policy also plays an important role in making Vietnamese products popular. TVC is the first e-commerce platform to commit to delivering orders from Vietnam to Dubai just 2 days after placing the order.

Great potential, highly competitive

The Middle East has been and is a strategic market in the journey to bring Vietnamese fashion to the world. However, the unique characteristics of culture, religion and political situation in this region are significant challenges for Vietnamese brands.

Another stream of made-in-Vietnam fashion that is present in Dubai in particular and the Middle East in general are independent brands such as C.Dam, Montsand... The approach of cooperating with local distributors or through wholesale channels to directly approach Arab customers has been applied by many potential units. Designer Tra Linh assessed that the Middle East is one of the most loyal markets of the brand in the past 2 years. Her brand has just successfully organized a show in Dubai, introducing a collection designed specifically for this market.

Thời trang Việt ở Trung Đông- Ảnh 3. — Founder of The Viet Concept - Le Kim Thuy Trang

On the journey of learning and connecting with partners in the Middle East, designer Linh Nga had personal experiences of pride when Vietnamese fashion was praised objectively and honestly. During a trip to Doha (Qatar) to visit the Museum of Islamic Art, Linh Nga was invited by a photographer to take pictures because she was so impressed with the outfit she was wearing. The image of the Vietnamese designer later appeared on a famous Qatari blog. "The feeling of pride kept simmering when I saw my photo chosen as the representative photo for the museum's May event series. Every time like that, I was reinforced with a deep belief that Vietnamese fashion can and will have a place on the global fashion map," the designer confided. She said she will participate in the runway show at Dubai Fashion Week held in September to meet directly with customers in the Middle East.