The ao dai and cultural diplomacy

Traditional cultural heritage

For generations, the ao dai has become a symbol and part of the Vietnamese culture, the embodiment of the nation, and a symbol of the beauty of the Vietnamese women.

History has recorded that the giao linh (traditional cross-collared robe), for the first time worn by Vietnamese in 1744, is considered the predecessor of the Vietnamese ao dai. The traditional cross-collared robe is wide, has slits on both sides, with its body being long enough to reach the wearer’s heels. Lord Nguyen Phuc Khoat, managing the region from the Gianh River in Quang Binh Province southward, requested people in the region to wear the traditional cross-collared robe with pants to distinguish between the southern and the northern costumes. To facilitate travel and work, the woman’s front flaps were sewn separately and tied together, while the two back flaps were sewn together to form a flap, and since then the costume has been called the ao tu than (four-flapped dress), with the four flaps representing the parents and parents-in-law to remember the merit of nurturing and giving birth.

During the reign of King Gia Long of the Nguyen Dynasty, the five-armed ao dai appeared for both men and women. This type of costume, in addition to four flaps sewn into two flaps like an ao dai, also has a small flap, symbolizing the wearer’s status in society. Therefore, the feudal and aristocratic mandarins often wore five-colored dress. This style of costume was especially popular in the ancient capital of Hue prior to 1945.

In the 1960s, painter Le Pho of the Fine Arts School of Indochina came up with a long dress model with discreetly designed neckline that does not reveal too much but still ensures the appearance of soft curves of ladies’ body. Since 1970, the ao dai has become more popular, used on important occasions such as weddings, festivals, and formal meetings, among others.

Assoc. Prof., Dr. Pham Van Duong, Deputy Director of the Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences’ Cultural Research Institute, said the ao dai is the inheritance of Vietnam’s thousands-of-years-old traditional culture. In other words, the ao dai is a creation based on the existing foundation, and today’s popular ao dai is the result of many innovations, he said.

Over the years, the ao dai has changed in terms of style and material, increasingly aiming for aesthetic value and convenience in daily life activities, and it is an endless source of inspiration for writers, artists and journalists to create their works.

The ao dai has become part of the Vietnamese culture and one of the first choices for important events of the nation, Duong said.

Assoc. Prof., Dr. Bui Hoai Son, Director of the Vietnam National Institute for Culture and Arts Studies (VICAS), said the ao dai not only is purely a type of national costume but also embraces a rich history, cultural tradition, philosophy, aesthetic and artistic concepts, consciousness and national spirit of the Vietnamese people.

Cultural diplomacy

Famous Vietnamese designer Minh Hanh said the ao dai has become a source of pride and one of the irreplaceable representations of identity. The ao dai has marked the values of the times through messages spreading positivity for life. Culture is always the foundation in the context of global integration and the ao dai is something that has enough “power” to send the messages of Vietnam to the world, she added.

Over the years, the Vietnamese ao dai has built its own reputation and left deep impressions on international friends. It is increasingly used not only during Tet (Lunar New Year) holidays and national and ethnic events, but is also more present in international and diplomatic events. Especially, not only Vietnamese female leaders and wives wear the ao dai, but heads of state, leaders, wives and diplomats from other countries also choose wearing the ao dai when coming to Vietnam as a way to express their respect for the Vietnamese culture and the friendship and diplomacy between their countries and Vietnam.

In 2006, leaders of member economies wore the traditional Vietnamese ao dai and took a photo at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum (APEC) that took place for the first time in Vietnam.

On June 23, 2023, on the sidelines of the state visit to Vietnam by the Republic of Korea’s (RoK) President Yoon Suk Yeol, Vietnamese President Vo Van Thuong’s wife Phan Thi Thanh Tam and the RoK President’s wife Kim Keon Hee wore the Vietnamese ao dai, together enjoyed tea and watched ao dai performances and traditional Vietnamese music performances. The image of the two ladies in the ao dai was broadcast by the media of both countries and welcomed by the community, contributing to the cooperative relationship and close friendship between Vietnam and the RoK.

Vietnam is aiming to make its ao dai a national intangible cultural heritage element and seek to propose that the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) recognize it as world intangible cultural heritage.