In 2018, we had the pleasure of collaborating with art director Lac Hoang and models Yen Tran and Bui Thao Phuong.

“I took inspiration from multiple occasions where I witnessed female relatives taking care of housework after family gatherings, while male relatives sat back and enjoyed themselves. This is an example of moments that manifest patriarchy and gender biases commonly seen across households in both cities and rural areas. I imagined women performing their tasks with acceptance and out of habit, but in glamorous and extravagant costumes to highlight the contrast and make it almost celebratory. With reference to the classic Cinderella tale where the restrictive home parallels the glamorous ball, I wanted to recreate the duality in a single scene. Reality is not black and white — are these women really oppressed or is it a faint, lingering remnant from a feudal society? In femininity, there is soft power, where things are not always what they seem to be. I purposefully chose my grandma’s kitchen, alongside the courtyard and interior of my parents’ house. An obvious reason was that the locations are domestic and familiar. Grandma’s kitchen was the one I was most proud of, as it’s full of memorabilia, even tracing back to wartime. It’s an interesting contrast to the designer dresses, as Diego also wittily took inspiration from the mundane things that exist in Vietnamese culture. It’s oddly satisfying to juxtapose the artworks (the dresses) with their own sources, like a simulation next to its origin.” - Lac Hoang

More of Lac Hoang's workk can be found at:
@lachoang
www.instagram.com/lachoang
https://lachoanggg.cargo.site/