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Nguyen Thi Thu Hien (Hientje Nguyen), Founder and Art Director of VIQUETA, spent more than a decade living in Europe while traveling extensively around the world. During that time, she frequently came across products bearing the label “Made in Vietnam” in major retail stores—from apparel and footwear to finely crafted fashion accessories.
Each encounter filled her with immense pride in the craftsmanship, technical expertise, and manufacturing capabilities of Vietnamese people. Yet it was a simple question from international friends that gave her pause:
“If Vietnam is so talented, why doesn't the world recognize any Vietnamese fashion brand as a leader in creative design?”
That question became a defining moment. It inspired Hientje to reflect on the gap between Vietnam's outstanding manufacturing capabilities and its limited global recognition as a source of original fashion creativity. From then on, she became determined to help change that narrative by contributing to the development of Vietnamese fashion brands driven by innovation, distinctive design, and cultural identity
Designer Hientje Nguyen showcases Vietnamese-designed creations on the international stage
What seemed like a simple question ultimately revealed one of the greatest challenges facing Vietnam's fashion industry. While the country has earned global recognition for its manufacturing excellence, it has yet to establish the same reputation for original design and creative leadership. Vietnam possesses remarkable technical expertise, but it is still searching for a distinctive creative language through which its brands can tell their own stories.
As Hientje Nguyen continued her research, she discovered that the world's leading luxury accessories houses have been evolving since the eighteenth century. What distinguishes these iconic brands is not merely exceptional craftsmanship, but something far more enduring: a creative heritage built upon a unique design philosophy, proprietary craftsmanship, and a consistent brand narrative passed down through generations.
By contrast, Vietnam's fashion industry has spent the past three to four decades primarily serving as a manufacturing powerhouse. Vietnamese artisans have demonstrated extraordinary skill, yet the industry has rarely had the opportunity to establish its own creative voice on the global stage. Many emerging workshops and young designers have understandably chosen the safer path—adapting or reinterpreting existing designs rather than developing entirely original concepts. As a result, the market continues to lack groundbreaking products driven by intellectual creativity and authentic design innovation.
A Vietnamese handbag brand embraced by the international community
Hientje found herself asking a question that would shape the course of her career:
“If we are capable of creating products of such exceptional quality, why don't we invest a little more in creativity, research, and original thinking to create something that is truly our own?”
That question became the driving force behind her work for years to come.
After returning to Vietnam, Hientje began with a small handmade workshop. It was a humble starting point, but reality soon revealed the limitations of traditional craftsmanship. Handmade production offered limited scalability, inconsistent precision, and made it difficult to realize increasingly sophisticated design concepts that required advanced manufacturing technologies.
Determined to overcome these barriers, she made a bold decision. In 2014, she invested in industrial machinery and modern production technologies—a path that very few in Vietnam were willing to pursue at the time due to the significant financial investment and the lack of technical guidance.
For Hientje, adopting technology was never about replacing craftsmanship. It was about empowering creativity, enabling Vietnamese designers and artisans to transform ambitious ideas into products that could meet international standards while preserving the artistry behind every creation.
A collection of innovative Vietnamese-branded creations personally designed by Hientje Nguyen.
For six years, Hientje devoted herself to an intensive process of learning through practice, experimentation, and perseverance. Along the way, she faced repeated setbacks, many of them caused by investing in machinery that proved unsuitable for the level of precision she sought.
A turning point came when she met an outstanding leathercraft specialist who became her mentor. He taught her how to achieve embossing and construction with millimeter-level precision, allowing her designs to attain the refined structure and silhouette associated with the world's leading luxury houses. More importantly, he showed her how to choose the right machinery—a lesson she had previously paid for through years of costly trial and error.
With a solid technical foundation in place, Hientje began building her own team, bringing together both experienced artisans and complete beginners. Every member was trained under a rigorous production philosophy centered on precision, refinement, and uncompromising quality, with the goal of crafting products that meet true luxury standards.
Yet the journey remained far from easy. Collaborating with external workshops repeatedly resulted in production defects, and for nearly five years, most manufacturing batches had to be discarded. Some factory owners even advised her to abandon original design altogether.
“Your designs are too complicated to produce and too difficult to sell. Why not simply adapt successful products from established luxury brands? They sell thousands every month. Just add your own logo, and the products will sell immediately.”
At one point, under significant financial pressure, she followed that advice. The products sold well. But she soon realized that commercial success built on imitation could never satisfy the purpose of a true designer.
She understood that copying was neither her path nor the path that would allow Vietnamese fashion to earn genuine international recognition.
From that moment forward, she made a defining decision:
Either create what has never been created before—or create nothing at all.
According to designer Hientje Nguyen, only genuine creativity can establish Vietnam's place on the global fashion stage.
In the luxury handbag industry, where every advancement demands substantial investment in technology, materials, and craftsmanship, Hientje Nguyen chose an even more ambitious path: innovation through meaningful reform. For her, the greatest risk has never been financial. It is the possibility that Vietnam might continue following established formulas—replicating existing ideas instead of creating its own. She believes that the next generation can only shape the future by having the courage to create new value.
This philosophy has led Hientje to develop designs driven by purpose rather than novelty. Her innovations are not created simply to attract attention, but to improve the user's everyday experience. From reducing the use of metal hardware to produce lighter handbags that can be unlocked effortlessly with one hand in a single second, to engineering structures that allow a handbag to transform instantly into a backpack or change its appearance through a simple adjustment, every design reflects intelligence, versatility, and refined functionality.
For Hientje, however, innovation is incomplete without cultural identity. Vietnamese heritage, artistic motifs, architectural forms, and cultural inspirations are thoughtfully woven into each creation. As a result, whenever one of her handbags appears in Europe or anywhere else in the world, it carries with it a contemporary yet deeply meaningful story of Vietnam.
Having lived in Europe for many years, Hientje experienced firsthand the stereotypes often associated with Vietnamese people—frequently perceived as skilled workers rather than creative innovators. Those experiences strengthened her determination.
“Fashion is one of the most powerful ways to redefine how the world sees Vietnamese people,” she says.
When establishing her brand, despite having more than two decades of experience in luxury accessories, Hientje devoted five years solely to developing what she calls its “Luxury Series Code”—the brand's creative DNA. From the logo and its distinctive design language to the deliberate choice of the letter “V,” every element was carefully conceived as a statement that Vietnamese creativity, intelligence, and craftsmanship deserve international recognition.
Beyond building Vietnamese fashion brands, Hientje Nguyen is also committed to mentoring and passing on her expertise to the next generation of Vietnamese fashion talent.
Hientje Nguyen sees the global shift of the luxury industry toward Asia as a historic opportunity for Vietnam. While China has established itself as a leader in large-scale manufacturing, she believes Vietnam's true competitive advantage lies in its craftsmanship, creativity, and rich cultural identity. Rather than competing on volume, Hientje has chosen to compete through innovation and originality—qualities she believes can secure Vietnam a respected place on the global fashion map.
Since the launch of her brand in May, the response has been overwhelmingly positive. Vietnamese consumers are showing an increasing appreciation for the values and stories behind the products they choose, signaling that the market is ready for a deeper transformation—one driven not only by aesthetics, but also by creativity, authenticity, and cultural meaning.
Hientje understands that this journey cannot be accomplished by one individual alone. For Vietnamese fashion to earn lasting international recognition, it will require the collective efforts of an entire creative community—especially a new generation willing to challenge convention, think independently, and create fearlessly.
Her message to young designers is both simple and powerful:
“Create what the world has not yet created. Build something that is truly your own. Take Vietnamese creativity as far as it can go.”
She believes that only when Vietnam enters the global marketplace as a nation of creators—not merely manufacturers—will its reputation, cultural influence, and future in the fashion industry be truly transformed.
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