Nghe An male student impresses with design calling for gender equality

As one of the 8 contestants who made it to the second round of the “Future Designer” contest with the theme “Sustainable Community Development” for high school students nationwide, the design “Social Equality” by Thai Van Minh Hieu, class 12D4, Huynh Thuc Khang High School, Vinh City was highly appreciated by the judges.

Minh Hieu's LGBT-inspired work, Black Swan, was highly appreciated by the judges for its ideas, messages and emotions. Photo: NVCC

Minh Hieu said that he was not too surprised when he received the news that he was one of the high school students nationwide who had made it to the next round. Because he was quite confident in his work even though this was the first time he had participated in a costume design competition.

“I found out about the contest quite late, there were only about two weeks left. So I finished my entries in five days and sent them in,” Hieu said.

Minh Hieu submitted 3 designs to the contest. One design was inspired by traditional ethnic motifs on bronze drums, one design was inspired by technology and the remaining design was inspired by the LGBT community, the black swan. The work about LGBT, the black swan was also a design that was highly appreciated by the judges for its ideas, messages and emotions.

A work inspired by the bronze drum motif by Minh Hieu. Photo: NVCC

The work is inspired by technological devices. Photo: NVCC

“In addition to the issue of gender equality in society through the black swan symbol, I also want to express my support for the LGBT community through the image of the flag symbolizing the gay community,” Minh Hieu said. Currently, this 12th grade student is urgently preparing to go to Ho Chi Minh City to participate in the second round of the competition.

Thai Van Minh Hieu is currently a student in class 12D4, Huynh Thuc Khang High School, Vinh City. Photo: NVCC

Loving fabrics and beauty, Minh Hieu said that since he was a child, he loved drawing and watching fashion shows. However, it all stopped at the level of random drawings, without any specific direction. It was not until grade 9 that Minh Hieu realized his interest in clothing design thanks to the times he drew costume design exercises in art classes at school and started to focus on studying from there.

“I have never been to any drawing class. I mainly learned through YouTube, TV, and fashion magazines. Whenever I had free time, I would take out paper and pen to practice drawing. At first, I had not yet formed my own style. But after a period of practice and accumulating knowledge about fashion, now the outfits I draw are all elegant, simple but must have a bold, innovative style,” Hieu shared.

Hieu said that in the Vietnamese fashion design industry, he admires designer Nguyen Cong Tri with collections such as “Lúa” (Rice) and “Em Hoa”. In the world fashion design industry, he admires designer Karl Lagerfeld, who is known as the “Godfather of Fashion” who revived the Chanel empire. These are the two “motivations” for him to follow and progress in the field of fashion design in the future.

Minh Hieu is passionate about drawing and design. Hieu shared that drawing is a way to relieve stress from studying. Photo: NVCC

Currently, Minh Hieu is urgently preparing for the second round of the competition which will take place in Ho Chi Minh City at the end of March.

“Whether I win or lose, this is a big step closer to my dream of becoming a fashion designer. I am quite excited to meet friends who share the same passion and have the opportunity to bring my designs from paper to real life. And above all, my parents and friends support my dream. Therefore, I will do my best,” Minh Hieu confided.