Wandering

Can you introduce yourself?
My name is Thao. I don’t have a nickname because I like my name in Vietnamese—it sounds more original. I’m 25 and I’m lost. I don’t know what to do next. But I guess such is life; it’s unexpected, and I’m just trying to appreciate it and go with the flow!

Aren’t we all! We understand that you’re currently doing fashion in Vietnam, can you tell us more about that?
Yes, I have a degree in fashion, but then I stopped working in the industry to try a corporate role. However, I didn’t feel that comfortable working in corporate. One of the reasons is because there’s already a designated path to climb. First you apply for a management trainee position, and then a year and a half later you become assistant manager, and then manager, and then… what’s next? Everything’s carved out for you. There’s this five year plan but I don’t even know if I’m going to live to see tomorrow!

Deep inside me, there’s always been an artistic side that’s creative and rebellious that I tried to put aside in order to conform. I guess I was just too scared, so I ran away from it for a while. And that’s okay too.

It’s something we all have to grapple with at one point or another, but it seems like you’re currently trying to find a path, which is why you’re here in Singapore we assume?
Yes. I’ve been traveling for a month and a half. I was in France for a month because my boyfriend is currently working there, so I spent some time visiting him and my best friend.

How exciting! Have you had any revelations throughout these past couple of months of travelling?
For sure! Both my boyfriend and my best friend are my biggest supporters. They’ve been telling me that I’ve got to try making some clothes of my own. I don’t have to have a goal of selling 100 pieces or anything, but just to create them first and put myself out there so that at least I won’t regret not giving it a go when I get old.

Yeah, we all have go start somewhere! If you were to start your own brand, what would it be like?
So this is very much connected to my academic background. I didn’t just study fashion in university—I studied pattern making, which is basically the construction side of fashion. I learned it from a Japanese teacher who spent years working at Yohji Yamamoto. Later on, some of his students even went on to make vests for Armani and other brands. He was an incredibly experienced teacher, and he inspired me deeply.

Through him, I was drawn to a style called avant-garde. Designers like Yohji Yamamoto, Comme des Garçons, Sacai, or even Maison Margiela really resonate with me. Rick Owens too, with his darker aesthetic. But I’ve always known that those kinds of clothes, especially the more complex pieces, aren’t something most people would wear every day. I mean, for most people, they’ll just throw on a T-shirt and pants. So I think my brand would follow that avant-garde direction, but in a more down-to-earth way.

Sounds amazing, we’re looking forward to seeing your work! Now that we’re at the end of the year, do you have any particular lessons that you’ve learned in 2025?
Yes, many lessons! I’m a very chaotic person, like super chaotic. You probably can’t find someone more chaotic than me (laughs). But at the same time, you can see the effort I put into my life trying to organise it. That’s why some people describe me as an organised chaos. I’ll put my photos into very neat folders and do little things like that..

So if there’s one lesson I’ve learned, it’s to not be afraid, as clichéd as it might be. To quote someone who’s kind of a spiritual master to me, Thích Nhất Hạnh,“The way out is in.” Sometimes we want to escape from something, when the solution is actually deep inside us. I guess that’s my life motto!