How does a fabric woven on a traditional La Khê loom find its way onto a London runway? What happens when heritage techniques are applied to new materials? And for a young designer born in Britain, can designing the Áo Dài become a way of discovering her own Vietnamese roots?
At Áo Dài Fashion Week London 2026 on 20 September, The Essence of La Khê (Hương sắc La Khê), Lụa Kim’s Việt Vân and Anna Hoàng’s Timeless Grace approached these questions from very different starting points, drawing on Vietnamese textiles, craftsmanship and personal connections to heritage.
La Khê: From the loom to the Áo Dài
In The Essence of La Khê, artisan Lê Đăng Toản and designer Nguyễn Thị Thúy Quỳnh brought traditional La Khê theand silk to the runway, incorporating patterns rooted in the historic weaving village. The silhouettes were deliberately restrained, allowing the colours, woven motifs and textures of the fabrics to take focus.
But finished garments were not the only things to travel to London. Silkworm cocoons, traditional thread-winding tools and, most notably, a La Khê loom were also brought to the event, revealing where the fabrics seen on the runway actually begin.
According to the two artisans, their family has restored 10 of La Khê’s 14 traditional fabric types, along with seven historic patterns. Six of those patterns appeared in The Essence of La Khê in London.
Lụa Kim: Traditional techniques on new materials
For Việt Vân, Lụa Kim combined silk and nhung the with linen, brocade and mesh. Lotus motifs and references to Đông Hồ and Hàng Trống folk art appeared through hand embroidery, appliqué and layered textile work rather than simply as surface decoration.
One of the collection’s most technically demanding experiments was traditional embroidery on mesh. A single design could require 40 to 50 hours of work, with the artisans having to account for both the elasticity of the mesh and the weight of the embroidery.
Developed over three months, Việt Vân retained softness through the body of the Áo Dài, while the collars, sleeves and decorative elements became areas for greater experimentation.
Anna Hoàng: Discovering Vietnam through the Áo Dài
Anna Hoàng was born and raised in London in a Vietnamese family. For the young designer, creating the Áo Dài has also become a way of learning more about the country her family comes from.
In Timeless Grace, Hoàng used La Khê the woven from Vietnamese silk, pairing it with hats and fans handcrafted from leaf skeletons and hand-painted with imagery referencing both Vietnam and Britain.
The idea took shape after a trip to Vietnam this summer, when she visited a La Khê weaving workshop and saw first-hand how the fabric was made.
From a La Khê loom to embroidery worked onto mesh and the perspective of a Vietnamese girl growing up in London, the three collections show how traditional materials and craftsmanship can continue to find new expressions through fashion.
