Q&a / Quiet luxury, but make it Asian: Lam Gia Khang on founding Gia Studios as a fourth-generation tailor and Project Runway Vietnam alum

Your designs blend minimalist aesthetics with Vietnamese heritage, giving an Asian spin on quiet luxury – a trend more often associated with high-end Western brands. What makes your brand of quiet luxury so special?

In Vietnam we have a long colonial history – a lot of cultures mixed. That’s why my grandmother learned tailoring from the French, my mother from the Americans. But we are still Vietnamese. I have to explain my clothes like this – your spirit is Asian, but the way you explore is Western.

Your mother helped run the brand before her retirement, and family is even encoded in the brand name – “Gia” meaning family in Vietnamese. How do family values play out in your work?

I’m lucky because I always have my family’s support. When I was young, I watched my mum do her job. I didn’t know what a designer was. When I grew up and knew more about fashion, I wanted to take her career to the next level. But I still keep my mum’s attitude – I don’t do collections, I do garments. When you focus on the details, you up the quality of [every] single garment – beautiful collections will come naturally.

My mum’s still supporting me – she comes to the workshop every day for quality control. We care about my workers. When you do garments like us, emotions are important. One day they make one garment, but if they’re not happy, the garment’s not good. I want to build my workshop like a family. Everyone takes care of each other, helps one another out. Maybe today you don’t finish the garment, people will help you finish it. Gia is my middle name also – in Vietnamese it means “connection, belonging”.

Why do you think the rest of the world – especially K-pop – has started paying attention to Vietnamese brands?

Before, the only thing [others] know about Vietnamese fashion is the ao dai (traditional Vietnamese tunic dress). But we have a lot of things to share, and now I can feel the rise of the new designers in Vietnam. We’re not a country with strength in high fashion, but we have strength in tailoring, craftsmanship. When we’re talking about Vietnam, people just know big fast fashion brands. But to me, craftsmanship in Vietnam is very interesting and varied. I’m so proud because I was born in a tailor shop – and when I saw my mum and grandmother do garments for the customers, the way they cared for every single detail meant a lot to me. That’s the reason I do my job now.