Staking a claim on the global fashion map

Nation’s pride: Cong Tri (left) on the catwalk at the end of a show at Vietnam International Fashion Week in Ho Chi Minh City last year. — AFP

When billionaire singer Rihanna posed for an ad campaign by luxury shoemaker Manolo Blahnik, she also made a star out of the little- known Vietnamese designer who made the oversized white shirt she posed in.

For more than two decades, Nguyen Cong Tri has been crafting chic structured eveningwear made of Vietnamese-spun silk, organza or taffeta, but despite some success at home, his designs had gained less traction elsewhere.