Italian Ambassador: an honour to wear Vietnamese Ao Dai

english.vietnamnet.vn

Italian Ambassador to Vietnam, Cecilia Piccioni, shared her love for the Ao Dai as she prepares to wear the traditional long dress at the Ao Dai Festival which due to take place from March 1 to 4 in Hanoi.

Image from entryItalian Ambassador to Vietnam, Cecilia Piccioni (second from left) talked to vice Italian ambassador Natalia Sangitini (first from left) and designers ChuLa and Thuong Huyen  about the event.

Q: You come from Italy, a country well-known for its fashion, what do you think about the Ao Dai?

Being an Italian obviously gives me the opportunity to appreciate fashion. And I love Ao Dai. I have a small collection of five Ao Dais.

I love to wear them whenever possible. I even wore one during my National Day.

I think it’s very elegant and comfortable at the same time.

I love the care and the attention to the details that make Ao Dai so beautiful.

Q: You’re going to participate in a fashion show together with many famous models to display the Ao Dai, do you think this kind of activity is strange for a diplomat?

I think it will be a very beautiful opportunity to reach out to people because diplomacy is reaching out to people.

Public diplomacy is now one of the key tasks for diplomats around the world. And I think wearing one of the most iconic Vietnamese masterpieces like the Ao Dai will be more powerful than a million statements because it will convey a message that Italy and Vietnam are strongly connected.

This is a very unique opportunity for Italian and Vietnamese co-operation in fashion.

We’ve been co-operating in the field since 2013 mainly in the training and knowledge sharing.

A lot of Italian fashion designers have come to Vietnam. We have organised several fashion shows and exhibitions.

The last event we organised together in last November in Hanoi, the fashion show called I’m Beautiful, You Too is clear evidence of the importance of fashion in our life.

But this is my first time on catwalk so I am very worried about it.

Q: What do you think about the idea of organising this Ao Dai Festival every year? Do you have any suggestions?

I think this is a great idea. I’m Italian and I’m very keen on preserving tradition. Making it an annual event will help preserve this beautiful and meaningful Vietnamese tradition.