(VOVWORLD) - The wives of the ambassadors of ASEAN countries to the US modelled the Vietnamese ao dai (Vietnam’s traditional long dress) at a cultural event hosted by the Embassy of Vietnam in Washington on Wednesday.
 Ambassador Nguyen Quoc Dung and his wife take a group photo with guests and the wives of the staff of the Embassy of Vietnam in the US. (Photo: VOV) |
The annual program was held ahead of Vietnamese Women’s Day, October 20. It is a monthly event organized by the ASEAN Women's Circle in Washington to introduce their cultures to international friends.
Guests were introduced to the history of Vietnamese ao dai and the combination of ao dai and silk from Desilk, a company that produces 100% natural premium silk in Vietnam.
 The wife of Vietnamese Ambassador to the US Tran Thi Bich Van (Photo: VOV) |
Tran Thi Bich Van, the wife of the Vietnamese Ambassador to the US, said the combination of the Vietnamese long dress and natural silk is the quintessence of Vietnamese culture.
“I have a wish to spread Vietnamese cultural values to American friends to help them know more about Vietnam. One of the things I really like is Vietnamese silk and ao dai. That's why since I came here I’ve tried to create activities to introduce Vietnam through ao dai and silk. This year I want to focus on one of my favorite types of silk because it combines East and West,” said Van.
Desilk is produced in Vietnam but the patterns are designed by a Vietnamese person living in Switzerland. Those designs are all from the Vietnamese culture, from betel leaves to lotus.
Van added that she wants to introduce it first to friends from ASEAN, then to Americans. “In the near future, I’ll organize more programs to bring Vietnamese ao dai to all my friends in the US."
The highlight of the event was a modelling of ao dai long dresses by the wives of the ambassadors of Indonesia, Malaysia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Vietnam, along with the wives of the staff of the Embassy of Vietnam in the US.