The Future of the Past

Dear Santa Claus,

I heard Christmas is coming to town and I think I should start living and forgetting how old I am now. 2020 has been an absolutely eventful year, regardless of a pandemic still raging, life goes on and there’s still a lot of history left to be made.

Life is short, the world is wide. It’s quite interesting to realize that when you reach a certain age or a new level of maturity, there were things that could mean a lot to you then all suddenly became no longer matter. Some of the things that once made you feel so proud of who you are unexpectedly became so uncertain, and you started asking yourself a bunch of questions: “Is it true? Why didn’t I know this? Why did that happen? How should I live my life moving forward?”.

When I was in my early 20s, I used to be so proud of the fact that our Vietnamese alphabet is a Latin-based language system, thanks to the Portuguese who came and invented some 500 years ago. Not only the language itself looks so much easier and more friendly to read for most people sharing a similar language system, the invention of the Vietnamese alphabet was considered a victory against the Chinese rule, and there was no way that I would want to learn Chinese for whatsoever reason. However, only a couple of years after, I’ve started to feel lost in many other conversations, realizing that I would have learned so much if I knew a bit more of Chinese, or to learn how to read “Chu Nom” (The Vietnamese language using classical Chinese characters) so that we would be able to understand better the arts of Vietnamese calligraphy or to know at least what was written in many our historical places.

In July 2020, I was fortunate enough to get to know the concept of Y Van Hien, a made-in-Vietnam apparel brand for Vietnam’s traditional costumes and accessories. Not long after, I was introduced to Nguyen Van Loc, the founder of Y Van Hien and it didn’t take long either for us to became good friends and partners. In the beginning, it didn’t seem that we can do anything together as I have not been able to see the synergy in between our hotel brand and Y Van Hien.

The project was prepared in less than 2 weeks, as we only thought that during this Covid-19 season, it’s important that we need to keep our activities and souls alive. The below is simply my act of “copy and paste” from some of the published articles – texts are provided by me together with the images and videos from our media partners to give you a better idea of what we do.

Taking the occasion of the Germany Unity Day and 45 years of Vietnam – Germany 45 years of diplomatic relations, TUI BLUE Nam Hoi An – the first TUI Group’s flagship hotel in Asia and Ỷ Vân Hiên, a Vietnam’s apparel brand for ancient costumes and traditional designs have successfully launched a special project for the first time.

The project started with an event series called “The Future of the Past”, held by TUI BLUE Nam Hoi An and Y Van Hien, were successfully launched in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City from 08-11 September 2020 and at TUI BLUE Nam Hoi An on 03 October 2020. The project allows us to travel back in time to experience a fine selection of Vietnamese history, culture and arts, which were well perceived by all the guests and participants of various nationalities and culture backgrounds.

Founded in 2018, Y Van Hien Joint Stock Company is founded by Nguyen Duc Loc with a mission to recover and preserve the ancient costumes, as well as bringing these gorgeous costumes closer to the people. The company started making ancient Vietnamese costumes and accessories such as hair covers, shoes, and jewelry which are made by skilled craftsmen. Besides in-depth research, Loc visited relics, village houses and traditional weaving villages to learn more about making ancient costume designs. Loc also gets help and advice from researchers and experts on ancient costumes in order to comply with the sewing rules.

“After many fashion shows, more and more young people love them and look for products of Y Van Hien. Many Vietnamese students studying abroad come back to Vietnam and order our costumes for their weddings,” said Nguyen Van Loc – Founder & Designer of Ỷ Vân Hiên 倚雲軒

TUI BLUE Nam Hoi An

Located 50 km South of Hoi An on tranquil Tam Tien Beach, the newly five star beachfront resort TUI Blue Nam Hoi An beckons travelers looking for an authentic getaway showcasing both the region’s rich history and unique beauty while soaking up the natural splendor of the Quang Nam coastline far from the madding crowd.

References:

The Future of the Past: http://oivietnam.com/2020/10/the-future-of-the-past/

Ỷ Vân Hiên & TUI BLUE Nam Hội An: Sự kết hợp giữa đương đại và truyền thống https://vntravellive.com/su-ket-hop-giua-y-van-hien-tui-blue-d31966.html

Project Director: Camellia Dinh