Panel Discussions

VIATT is proud to partner with Redress to showcase young Vietnamese fashion designers who are striving to create a more sustainable future for the industry.

Join us on 27 February from 11:00am to 12:15pm for a panel discussion on The Future of Sustainability in Vietnam’s Fashion Industry to learn more about:

• Lessons on doing business in sustainable fashion
• Experiences with waste and circularity
• Thoughts on how money affects sustainability efforts
• The need for up-skilling and implementing technology towards circularity
• And their dreams for the future!

Moderator

Thu Lê is an expert, public speaker, and educator of sustainable fashion, and the Vietnamese representative of Redress – an environmental NGO on a mission to accelerate the transition to a circular fashion industry. From 2021 to 2024, Thu founded and operated her sustainable menswear label, and showcased her collections in Hong Kong FW and Shenzhen FW. Her scope of work extends beyond sustainable fashion: in 2024, Thu cofounded XAVAN Inc. - a design & communication consulting firm focusing on Vietnamese local systems and resources.

Speakers

Liễu Vũ is CEO and Founder of ECOSOI, a company specialising in research, production, and development of eco-friendly fibres. With a mission to provide sustainable material solutions for the textile and fashion industry by transforming agricultural by-products into fibres and fabrics, ECOSOI is making a positive impact on the environment by reducing CO2 emissions, creating livelihoods for local communities, and enhancing the value of Vietnamese agricultural products. ECOSOI's primary product is fibre and fabric made from pineapple leaves. She is currently the Head of the Environmental Technology Department at Hanoi University of Business and Technology.

Thư Vũ began as a fashion style consultant before recognizing the industry's waste problems. After graduating from RMIT with a Fashion Merchandising Management degree and winning the 2018 Discipline of Fashion award, she launched Passii (CDR JSC). Starting as a garage sale, Passii evolved into a sustainable fashion platform. As a 3x TEDx speaker, Thu advocates for sustainable fashion globally. Under her leadership, Passii has built a strong community for closet decluttering and conscious fashion discovery, focusing on local designers and waste management solutions.

Thảo Nguyễn is an emerging designer from the Redress Alumni Network and cofounder of the Hanoi-based ethical fashion label Southeast. “We collected old clothes from our friends, thrift stores, and deadstock fabrics from factories and reconstructed the garments with a touch of DIY experimental. We are focused on developing creative responsible ways of clothing production. Through our works, we want to extend a circle of not only garments itself but also the creative flows of designers.”

Kha Ngô completed a Fashion Design program, Industrial Art Faculty, at the University of Architecture Ho Chi Minh City, 2016, and founded KHAAR, a phygital sustainable fashion brand in early 2022. A young designer, Kha excels in using the mix of both traditional and high-tech techniques in 3D, virtual environments. Making use of the precision nature of 3D design & visualisation, KHAAR is one of a small number of hybrid fashion brands that succeeds in combining reality and virtuality, following 3R in fashion: Reduce wastes by advanced Virtual 3D technology, Recycling and Upcycling fabric scraps and textile wastes; and act Responsibly by sourcing premium, sustainable materials.

About Redress

Redress is a Hong Kong-based, Asia-focused environmental NGO on a mission to accelerate the transition to a circular fashion industry by educating and empowering designers and consumers in order to reduce clothing’s negative environmental impacts. Find out more here.

The Shaping a Sustainable Textile Future Through Innovation panel discussion will take place on day 1 (26 February) of the fair from 11:15 – 12:30pm.

• Featuring international experts from across the textile spectrum, the panel will discuss:
• Frameworks for Sustainability: What’s Already in Place
• Innovations Driving Change
• Scaling the Impact: Accelerating the Shift
• Looking Forward: Long-Term Impact
• and Action Steps

Moderator

Sharon Lim is a trailblazing leader in the fashion-tech landscape, serving as the President of the Singapore Fashion Council (SFC) and the Chairwoman of Browzwear, a cutting-edge fashion technology company that empowers global retailers, brands, and manufacturers through digital transformation. Recognised as a tech visionary in the fashion industry, she has been at the forefront of advocating for sustainable change through technology for over two decades. SFC, the official trade association for Singapore’s textile and fashion sector, envisions becoming a vibrant Asian hub for responsible fashion, with Sharon playing a pivotal role in shaping this transformative future.

Speakers

Kiki Chen, Sorona® Marketing Manager, Covation Biomaterials LLC is a seasoned marketing specialist with extensive experience in Textile and enthusiast in sustainability matters. As Global Marketing & Channel manager at formally DuPont and currently Covation Biomaterials, specialize in bio-based materials and making an impact to create a more sustainable fashion industry.

Dr Erika Ngan, Project Manager (Research Section) at The Hong Kong Research Institute of Textiles and Apparel has more than ten years of experience in testing and evaluation of functional textile.  After joining HKRITA, she has worked closely with textile industry on different research areas including fibre closed up, bio-solutions to microplastics and passive cooling textiles.

Prof. Calvin Wong is the CEO and Centre Director of AiDLab and holds an Endowed Professorship in Fashion at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University. He is ranked among the world’s top 1% of most-cited scientists in AI & Image Processing according to the Global Report released by Stanford University, with over 170 high-impact journal publications.

VIATT is pleased to partner with VDAS Design Association HCMC and @VMARK Vietnam Design Award to host our first ever Design Roundtable & Networking event on day 2 of the fair from 2:00 to 5:00pm.

With the topic Sustainable Interiors with Smart Textiles speakers Gwen Lefebvre, Calvin Lam and Naomi Thuy, led by the expert moderation of Danh Tran, will discuss:

• How do smart fabrics used in interior design contribute to creating perfect and sustainable living spaces
• How do designers envision the future of interior design with the increasing use of smart fabrics
• What breakthrough technologies could shape the next generation of interior designs
• What key design factors should be considered when incorporating smart fabrics into interior spaces
• How do smart fabrics compare to traditional materials in interior design, and how do they help reduce environmental impact
• What challenges do designers face when integrating smart fabrics into interior designs

The roundtable discussion will be followed by a networking event from 4:00 to 5:00pm, so don’t miss this chance to rub shoulders with experts from the industry.

Moderator

Danh Tran is Vice President of VDAS Design Association Vietnam, and is also the founder and CEO of VMARK VIETNAM DESIGN AWARD. She has 30 years of experience in management, education and design-related activities, Ms Tran has the goal of building and developing the Vietnamese design community through education, awareness and work experience sharing activities to build a solid foundation for the globally recognized Vietnam Creative and Design Community.

Speakers

GWENDESIGN is a leading international interior design studio, with representative offices in Shanghai, Hong Kong, and Ho Chi Minh City. Founded by designer and entrepreneur Gwen Lefebvre (France) in 2007, GWENDESIGN has been involved in world-renowned, award-winning F&B and luxury residential projects across France, China, Mongolia, and Southeast Asia. The firm specializes in luxury entertainment spaces and high-end lifestyle projects, encompassing architecture, interior design, soft decoration, and branding.

Naomi Thuy Nguyen is Founder & Director of YC Interior Design. During the past 20 years she has participated in countless national and international projects as a Project Manager, Project Director, AA Deco Brand Director and Head of Design Division.

Calvin Lam is Managing Director of InDe Pacific Capital, a Private Equity firm in Vietnam that enables and empowers entrepreneurs in various verticals such as Fashion (iBasic, MARC, FMS); Education (Tomato, ICS); Resources (forestry and related services) and F&B. Mr. Lam was the co-founder & CEO of Avus, an Inc. 5m company (in 198) that distributes IT products worldwide from its headquarters in California and subsidiaries in Mexico and China with a 12-year cumulative revenue of USDSIBn. founded and exited companies in the US, Mexico, China and Vietnam.