{"id":4969,"date":"2020-11-13T16:41:53","date_gmt":"2020-11-13T08:41:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thesmartlocal.com\/vietnam\/?p=4969"},"modified":"2021-01-06T19:02:16","modified_gmt":"2021-01-06T11:02:16","slug":"ao-dai-illustration-challenge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thesmartlocal.com\/vietnam\/ao-dai-illustration-challenge\/","title":{"rendered":"Vietnamese Artists Take On #Vi\u1ec7tPh\u1ee5cMu\u00f4nN\u0103m Challenge, Inspiring Us By Drawing Manga-Style Ao Dai"},"content":{"rendered":"

#Vi\u1ec7tPh\u1ee5cMu\u00f4nN\u0103m art challenge promotes ao dai<\/em>-wearing<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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The topic of wearing <\/span>ao dai<\/span><\/a><\/em>\u00a0in daily life has been trending these days, and Vietnamese artists across the world have jumped onto the bandwagon by launching<\/span> #Vi\u1ec7tPh\u1ee5cMu\u00f4nN\u0103m<\/b>, or the <\/span>#VietnameseTraditionalClothing challenge<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Through this challenge, illustrators and manga artists express their support for the<\/span> revival of the <\/b>ao dai<\/em>–<\/i><\/b>wearing tradition <\/b>among men by drawing male manga-style characters clad in <\/span>ao dai<\/span><\/em>.<\/em>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Vietnamese netizens use manga to promote ao dai-<\/em>wearing<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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\nA sketch showing ao dai-clad Vietnamese teachers teaching The Tale of Kieu in Sino-Vietnamese characters<\/em>
\nImage credit: <\/span>Nguy\u1ec5n Qu\u1ef3nh<\/a><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Every culture is interesting, but with an extra dose of fantasy elements, more young people will be inspired to study about and cherish it.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

With this in mind, a group of culture enthusiasts have decided to revive the<\/span> ao dai<\/em>–<\/i><\/b>wearing tradition through visual art. <\/b>This drawing challenge specifically aims to promote <\/span>ao dai<\/span><\/em>–<\/span><\/i>wearing among <\/span>Vietnamese men<\/b>, especially male students, many of whom no longer have <\/span>ao dai<\/span><\/em> as a fixture in their daily wardrobes.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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\n2 students solving a math puzzle<\/em>
\nImage credit: <\/span>Ch\u00e2u Ch\u1eb7t Ch\u00e9m<\/a><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

The <\/span>#Vi\u1ec7tPh\u1ee5cMu\u00f4nN\u0103m <\/b>challenge was launched about a week ago,<\/span> inspiring local manga artists and illustrators to showcase their sketches featuring Vietnamese men in <\/span>ao dai<\/span><\/em> with all types of designs.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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\nAo dai styles from the 1880s<\/em>
\nImage credit: <\/span><\/em>Tuy\u1ec1n Thanh Rat<\/span><\/em>
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\nTuy\u1ec1n Thanh Rat<\/span><\/a>, a local artist, went as far as drawing sketches portraying different designs of Vietnamese ao dai<\/em><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>throughout the years.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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\nAo dai styles from the 1950s<\/em>
\nImage credit: <\/span>Tuy\u1ec1n Thanh Rat<\/span><\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

In response to the common opinion that ao dai<\/em> looks feminine and isn\u2019t convenient to wear in everyday life, artist Lop Lop<\/a> drew a sketch showing male students playing sports comfortably in loose ao dai<\/em>.<\/p>\n

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Image credit: <\/span>Lop Lop<\/span><\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Meanwhile, artist <\/span>Hu\u1ebf H\u00e0nh<\/span><\/a> shows netizens that men can look <\/span>cool and sporty<\/b> while pulling off their hip-hop moves in <\/span>ao dai<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

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\nImage credit: Hu\u1ebf H\u00e0nh<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Even though <\/span>ao dai<\/span><\/em> is the last outfit anyone would wear to a fight, seeing a Vietnamese girl and boy in<\/span> ao dai <\/span><\/em>getting ready for some stunts might make us want to wear <\/span>ao dai<\/span><\/em> to a <\/span>martial arts lesson.\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

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\nImage credit: H\u00e2n Tr\u1ea7n<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

But if you ever have to enter a fight in self-defense while wearing your <\/span>ao dai<\/span><\/em>, check out <\/span>Jay Le Paninie<\/span><\/a>\u2019s guideline on how to fight in <\/span>a<\/span>o dai <\/span><\/em>using the<\/span> long cloth flaps to gain leverage over your opponent – <\/b>by using them to choke and overpower the enemy.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\nImage adapted from: <\/span>Jay Le Paninie<\/span><\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

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Reactions from netizens<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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Within less than a week, the <\/span>#Vi\u1ec7tPh\u1ee5cMu\u00f4nN\u0103m<\/b> challenge has been accepted by many independent artists and drawn tremendous attention from netizens.<\/span><\/p>\n

Mixed reactions have been recorded in the comment sections of each photo, with many people <\/span>offering different opinions<\/b>.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\nImage adapted from: Tuy\u1ec1n Thanh Rat<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cImagine both men and women wearing ao dai<\/em> every Monday morning. Too cute to be true!\u201d Facebook user Nh\u01b0 Nguy\u1ec5n<\/a> commented, expressing her full support<\/b> for the idea of making ao dai<\/em> a school uniform for both male and female students.<\/p>\n

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\nImage adapted from: Jay Le Paninie<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Facebook user <\/span>Hudson Aliee<\/span><\/a> offered a fashion mix-and-match suggestion in her comment, \u201cMale ao dai <\/em>looks very stylish, and can be <\/span>paired with jeans <\/b>for a sporty look. However, the flaps should end at<\/span> knee level<\/b> for convenient movement.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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\nImage adapted from: \u0110\u1eb7ng Th\u1ecb M\u1ef5 \u0110\u00ecnh<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Facebook user Hi No Aoi <\/a>commented, \u201cMale students should wear black <\/b>ao dai<\/b><\/em> with white pants<\/b>, while female students should go for white <\/b>ao dai<\/b><\/em> with black pants<\/b>. This getup would look sophisticated and clean.\u201d<\/p>\n

However, not all netizens are onboard with the idea of wearing ao dai<\/em> in everyday situations.<\/p>\n

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\nImage adapted from: M\u1ef9 Hi\u1ec1n<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Facebook user <\/span>\u0110\u1eb7ng Ph\u01b0\u01a1ng Trang<\/span><\/a> expressed her view on the revival of this tradition in a straightforward tone, \u201cIt (<\/em><\/span>ao dai<\/span><\/em>)<\/em> is inconvenient for both female and male wearers and nobody should be obligated to wear it.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

This met vehement objections from other netizens, showing how relevant the <\/span>ao dai<\/span><\/em>-wearing topic is among young people.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Vietnamese artists use manga to encourage ao dai<\/em>-wearing among men<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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The <\/span>Vietnamese<\/span> ao dai<\/span> <\/em><\/a>is one of the world\u2019s most recognizable traditional garments, worn by <\/span>both men and women<\/b> in both formal and casual occasions. Throughout decades, the popularity of <\/span>ao dai<\/span><\/em>-wearing among men has subsided significantly and only reemerged recently through heated debates about tradition-reviving movements on the Internet.<\/span><\/p>\n

While there is no wrong response to this revival movement, it\u2019s good news that more Vietnamese young people are becoming more interested in studying about and preserving <\/span>Vietnamese culture<\/b>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Also check out:<\/span><\/p>\n