(VOVworld) – A festival of Vietnamese traditional costumes or Ao dai will take place from October 14 – 16 at Thang Long Imperial Citadel.

Designers who will participate in the festival (Photo: dantri.com.vn)

Do Dinh Hong, Director of Hanoi’s Department of Tourism, told a press conference on Thursday that the festival is part of activities to honour Hanoi’s cultural values and promote tourism products. Themed “The essence of Vietnam’s Ao dai”, the festival will include exhibitions, art and cultural activities featuring the beauty of the Ao dai.
Workshops on preserving the Ao dai’s traditional values will be held during the event. Hong said: “This year’s Ao dai festival is not only a tourism and cultural event to promote the culture and tradition of Hanoi and Vietnam. It aims to promote Hanoi as a fashion center of Vietnam. As a key Vietnamese tourism center with a thousand-year history and a stable number of tourists, Hanoi has advantages for developing tourism and fashion.”

Collections of old and new Ao dai will be displayed along with fabrics and old looms that were once used in craft villages.