A Favorite Fashion Brand: Kilomet109
Kilomet109 was founded by Ms. Thao Vu. She graduated fashion design course at London College for Design and Fashion Hanoi. She won the British Council’s Young Creative Entrepreneur in Design/ Fashion Award in 2014. Kilomet109 is known as a captain of sustainable fashion brand names in Vietnam. It is an eco-friendly brand committed to preserving Vietnam’s rich fashion and textile heritage.
Ms. Thao Vu collaborates with H’Mong artisans. This creates jobs for many ethnic minorities in Vietnam. Each item handmade by Thao and her partners, women from Nung, Thai and H’mong ethnic minorities. Using traditional techniques, they produce organic dyes, detergents and fibers that are then spun and woven into Kilomet109’s fabrics.
“The value of our pieces is about more than their design,” Thao says, “it’s about the culture of the people who make them and the environmental issues that are so vital to our future.”
Thao uses beeswax to make batik patterns, adds ancient royal embroidery from Ha Thay Province, and employs village artisans to make double-faced silks from their family mills and looms. Her target customers are people who have middle to high income. Because the designs are all handmade, it will take a lot of time and the production quantity is not much. Therefore, the brand does not expand its retail system. After dyeing, the fabric of this time will different from the last time. Therefore, each garment is one of a kind.
All in all, people are looking for something unique, valuable. Fashion is not only about designs. It also brings meaningful inspiration which touches the hearts of customers.
References
Kilomet109 (2022) Available at: https://www.facebook.com/kilomet109/ (Accessed: 30 September 2022).
Kilomet109 (2022) Available at: https://www.kilomet109.com/ (Accessed: 30 September 2022).
Maison (2022) WHY HANOI IS THE PARIS OF VIETNAM. Available at: https://maisonrmi.com/why-hanoi-is-the-paris-of-vietnam/ (Accessed: 30 September 2022).
British Council (2022) Vu Thao. Available at: https://www.britishcouncil.vn/en/about/25-years-ebook/cultural-connections/vu-thao/ (Accessed: 30 September 2022).