Ao baba show in Washington 2014
On April 6, 2014 Kim-Lieu presented her new collection of Vietnamese traditional blouses, Áo Bà Ba, at the Richard J. Ernst Cultural Center Theater in Northern Virginia.
Composed of 15 outfits, the new collection was inspired by the beauty and versatility of the traditional blouse worn by Vietnamese ladies from the Mekong Delta. The designer demonstrated that the newly designed Áo Bà Ba is suitable for all occasions, from lounging, street wear, cocktails, evening/dancing gathering to official functions.
Indeed, the 22 models, many of them wear titles from local and national pagentries, showed and gracefully demonstrated how the outfits were worn in social and official functions, including dancing in a waltz that commanded standing ovation of an audience of approximately 700. The couples danced to the music of The Last Waltz while the model cat walked to the music of a Vietnamese song, "Em Gái Quê" or "Áo Bà Ba," composed especially for the occasion View more
Fashion show in Washington, DC, Metropolitan Area
On April 22, 2012 the designer Kim Lieu presented a fashion show at the Ernst Cultural Center in Annandale, Virginia, to a local audience in a full capacity theater in spite of the unseasonal April storm, rain and cold.
The program consisted of five parts... Read more
Kim-Lieu's research and reconstructed traditional outfits over the centuries
Returned to her homeland to research Vietnamese women's traditional outfits over the centuries, from the first outfits on record to those appeared in the 1970s, Kim-Lieu has reconstructed the outfits and presented them as part of her most recent fashion show... Go back to the past
Specialties
Kim-Lieu designs and paints water color on white silk after providing consultation to customers on an outfit. Her painting combines techniques from the East and the West, including Indonesian/Malay batik. The completed designed and painted materials are then processed through a complicated technique using sophisticated French steamers... Click to surprise
The designer
A gifted artist, painter, and designer, Kim-Lieu graduated from the National Institute of Applied Arts in Paris, France, and resettled in the Washington, DC, Metro Area. She began her freelance design work in DC, New York, and California after a successful fashion show of her hand-painted, hand-made outfits and accessories at the Hilton Hotel in Arlington, Virginia in 1985. To respond to the many requests for her wedding and evening gown designs from those who admire her talents and super painting skills, she has agreed to provide consultation to selected customers and designed gowns and accessories, including jewelry, for dozens of bridal parties while raising a family... Read more