San Francisco Frontiers - Phan Huy: the fashion prodigy putting Vietnam on the map

The early part of his week was spent anxiously waiting for his designs to arrive in France from Vietnam after they were held up in customs.

"I was very nervous," the soft-spoken 27-year-old told AFP on Tuesday just hours after his elaborate hand-made dresses were finally released, meaning he could begin fitting the models.

"We had a paperwork issue," his co-founder and brand chief executive Steven Doan, 40, explained.

The delays have complicated an already daunting task for the duo who have been catapulted into Paris Haute Couture Week and the fashion stratosphere, which some designers spend a lifetime hoping to enter.

They created the label less than three years ago, but have been fast-tracked into a field that includes corporate giants like Chanel, Dior or Armani, which have billions in annual sales.

Phan and Doan have more limited resources and prepared to unveil their designs on Thursday at 1230 GMT in a cramped basement apartment in western Paris.

"The first collection completely sold out and from that we reinvested," Doan explained. "We were very lucky that we've received a lot of orders from customers around the world, not just in Vietnam."

- 'A dream' -

The origins of the brand go back to Phan's final collection at the Ho Chi Minh City University which became a viral sensation, drawing attention from local celebrities including singers My Tam and Ho Ngoc Ha.

"It was a dream because I was a young student," said Phan, who only turned 27 this week.

Doan, a former model and a stylist in London, also reached out from his then-home in the British capital to suggest they work together.

"I was really struck by Huy's talent. In Vietnam there's a level of designing that is very similar and then when you see a different collection, it really stands out," Doan said.

While he grew up in the coastal city of Nha Trang, Phan hails from a village in the central Quang Tri province.

Phan credits his first interest in fabrics to his parents' curtain shop, where material was always abundant.

He would transform some of it into doll dresses.

"I was into fashion and clothing when I was six years old. I was always very picky with my own outfits," he explained.

- 'Fashion as well' -

The invitation to Paris Haute Couture Week came from France's FHCM fashion federation, which is the guardian of the country's highly protected Fashion Weeks and a key tastemaker.

Alongside the permanent French couture houses, the federation invites guest designers from around the world who have both the skill and commitment to handmade craft that form the basis of the business.

Phan Huy will take his place alongside other designers such as Rami Al Ali from Syria, Imane Ayissi from Cameroon and Hong Kong-born Robert Wun who have brought diversity and freshness to the programme.

"I'm very happy and very proud because I can represent and bring the culture and creativity of Vietnam to the world," Phan said.

Doan stressed that their home country is known as a global manufacturing hub that produces mass-market clothes for Western brands.

"We want to prove that we can do fashion as well," he said.

The last Phan Huy collection, which was shown off-calendar in Paris last July, included references to everyday rural Vietnamese life from fans, fishing nets, straw bundles to banana leaves.

This upcoming Spring/Summer 2026 season has been inspired by Vietnam's former ruling Nguyen dynasty, notably Emperor Khai Dinh and the last empress consort, Nam Phuong, who both lived under colonial French rule.

"I want to be inspired by people like Empress consort Nam Phuong, King Khai Dinh, with their fashion style and the interaction between the West and the East," explained Phan.

V.Mitchell--SFF