Two pioneering Vietnamese fashionistas have launched a lifestyle concept store in downtown Ho Chi Minh City called There Vnd Then.
Boule Nguyen, a successful clothing retailer in Canada and Huy Dieu, an entrepreneur with a background in Germany’s creative-lifestyle industry says they want to make There Vnd Then “a holistic lifestyle experience”.
They have converted four storeys of a retail building on Nguyen Hue Street into a 2800sqm gallery-style retail environment featuring a curated collection of upmarket streetwear brands, a glass-encased barbershop, frozen-yogurt cafe and a rooftop bar space.
There Vnd Then (the Vnd is a play on words, pronounced ‘and’ but using an inverted A in reference to the country’s currency, the Vietnam Dong) soft launched a week ago after celebrity-studded opening celebrations which stretched over two days.
There Vnd Then stocks more than 70 brands of streetwear and limited-edition items, including Alyx Studios, Yeezy, Mastermind World, Gentle Monster, Heron Preston, DRKSHDW by Rick Owens, Adidas’ Y-3, Palm Angels, Adidas and Stussy.
There Vnd Then’s customers also can get a profesional styling at a unisex Barbershop and enjoy different beverages at the black-and-pink-toned cafe called Blackyard.
Nguyen and Dieu say they want the store to become an inspirational place to connect and develop Saigon’s street-style community through a diversity of shared experiences, bridging the gap between Vietnamese youth and the world’s expanding cultural and fashion scenes.
“There Vnd Then is more than a retail project to me,” explains Dieu. “Coming back to Vietnam with the idea to be a part of this fast-growing country and sharing things that I’ve learned in the western world played a huge role in my decision. Being able to give something back to the land of my parents means a lot to me and is worth all the sweat, blood, passion and tears we needed for this project.”
There Vnd Then is already planning a second location, to be unveiled in the first quarter of next year, part of a long-term vision “to place Vietnam on the world map of contemporary urban culture”.
Beside the arrival of international brands, the There Vnd Then launch has attracted a host of fashion lovers by featuring appearances by top youth-culture figures including fashionistas Decao, Chau Bui, hip-hop duo Wean & Naomi, and OTD band.
