Quasar Khanh: A golden legacy

“They are powerful stories,” said Michèle DeAlbert, co-founder of Quasar Khanh International and his creative collaborator of more than 40 years, who encouraged him to write the autobiography.

In 1949, the young man left. “He was an outstanding student,” she recalled. “His mother wanted him to have the best education and qualifications.”

The boy who departed the North as Nguyen Manh Khanh would return 46 years later as Quasar Khanh—to a peaceful, independent, and unified Vietnam. “He was deeply moved by that,” Michèle said.

Upon arriving in Paris, Nguyen Manh Khanh pursued his education at breakneck speed. He was quickly accepted into the Lycée Saint-Louis, one of the city’s top three schools. Boulevard Raspail, near the artistic heart of the Latin Quarter, became home to the young student, who immersed himself in painting and illustration. His graphic novel Daily Horror was published in 1959. In 1955, he enrolled at the École Nationale des Ponts et Chaussées, his preferred choice among France’s top five engineering schools, largely due to its proximity to Saint-Germain-des-Prés—a district steeped in artistic and literary tradition.

Upon arriving in Paris, Nguyen Manh Khanh pursued his education at breakneck speed. He was easily accepted into the Lycée Saint-Louis, one of the top three schools there. Boulevard Raspail, near the artistic Latin Crossroads, became the home of the student who pursued painting and illustration, with his graphic novel Daily Horror published in 1959. Khanh attended the Ecole Nationale des Ponts et Chaussées in 1955, his favorite of the top five schools for his chosen profession because of its proximity to Saint-Germain-des-Prés, a place rich in artistic and literary traditions.

After graduating in 1958, he was assigned to Manicouagan 5, the world’s largest multi-arch dam, where he worked in the prestigious office of Coyne et Bellier. There, he became one of the first engineers to highlight the dangers of mercury and lead in dam construction, seeking alternative materials that would reduce toxicity and structural pressure. He explored the use of compressed air as a design element.

One fateful day in 1955, in the Montparnasse district, Khanh met the woman who would become his wife—Emmanuelle, an 18-year-old model who had worked for Balenciaga and Givenchy.

By 1957, wedding bells rang, and the doors to fashion and design swung open for the newly qualified engineer and his model wife. The couple became a pioneering creative duo, constantly innovating and experimenting. Young, stylish, and intensely private, they made their mark on the Latin Quarter and Saint-Germain-des-Prés. Emmanuelle went on to revolutionise fashion by introducing prêt-à-porter—the ready-to-wear movement that democratised haute couture.

Emmanuelle described her husband as “imaginative, creative, dreamy—tormented by a whirlwind of unusual ideas.”

“He didn’t stop at trivial concepts; he always had brilliant ones,” wrote his former design student, Philippe Starck, in the foreword to the forthcoming book Quasar Khanh – The Legendary Designer.

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The 1960s and 1970s were Quasar Khanh’s golden years, firmly establishing his name in design history. During this period, he became the first Vietnamese inventor to be included in the Larousse encyclopedia.

He began working with plastic—a new, oil-based material he admired for its durability, sheen, and transparency. In Quasar’s view, transparency allowed the human form to become an integral part of design for the first time. He created everything from cribs and cots to fireside chairs, as well as models of ships and aeroplanes—or, in some cases, hybrids of both. Emmanuelle, by then working as a stylist for the Milanese fashion house Missoni, famously used one of his inflatable houses as the setting for a 1967 fashion show at the renowned Piscina Solari.

Emmanuelle also collaborated with Quasar on a collection of dresses made from interlocking metal clips, crafted in a workshop owned by the family of Paco Rabanne, who loved their concept. This design innovation inspired a new line of metal-embellished dresses, a style that continues to influence fashion today.

Quasar Khanh's international reputation was cemented by his Aerospace collection of inflatable furniture, released in 1968 to celebrate the Apollo 11 mission. Two of his most famous pieces—the Chesterfield sofa and the transparent smoke Chester armchair—were recently reinterpreted by Yves Saint Laurent and showcased on Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills, adding to their enduring appeal 56 years on. Several of his works from this era are now part of the permanent collection at the Center Pompidou in Paris.

Ironically, his Aerospace phase lasted only a few years before he turned his attention to foam, organic glass, and metals. He then ventured into menswear, designing the first three-piece denim suit, tailored for businessman Maurice Bidermann.

Quasar and Emmanuelle have two children: a son, Othello, and a daughter, Atlantique. Also residing in Paris are Le Tan Khanh, whom the children lovingly address as ‘Ba Be’, and her mother. Perhaps nothing better illustrates the “Khanh Dynasty” than an intergenerational soirée within one of Quasar’s signature inflatable domiciles. The family’s public persona perfectly embodies Quasar’s philosophy of transparency in our modern era.

Quasar’s other masterpiece, the Quasar Unipower, stands as a testament to transparent design. This pioneering urban monospace vehicle, a 2x2x2m crystalline cube with sliding plexiglass windows, remains an emblematic sight of 1960s Latin Quarter life, piloted by the Vietnamese innovator with his glamorous wife and children in tow.

1974 marked a pivotal moment following Le Tan Khanh's passing. The subsequent year, Quasar acquired a magnificent villa in Garches, perched atop a hill west of Paris, where his creativity flourished anew, yet simultaneously revealed fissures in the couple’s union. The constant whirl of lavish soirées, attended by luminaries of the day, left Emmanuelle increasingly alienated in her new residence, culminating in their divorce shortly thereafter.

The Khanh children have since carved their own distinguished paths. Othello Khanh has established himself as a filmmaker and founder of CREATV, Vietnam's most established film production house, and is currently championing the publication of Quasar Khanh – Legendary Designer, chronicling his father’s remarkable legacy. Meanwhile, Atlantique Ascoli Khanh, following an early singing career, has reinvented herself as a celebrated fashion designer.

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In 1986, he commenced mentoring Michèle and established their company together, which continues to produce his works in Vietnam to this present day.

The new collection originated with a series of cast aluminium furniture prototypes crafted in France. Though Quasar conceived these pieces in the mid-70s, their prohibitive production costs prevented their realisation.

Michèle – the interior and accessories virtuoso behind such coveted brands as Gaya, Saigon Kitsch, Precious Quy, Celadon Green and Espace Michèle DeAlbert – recognised the prototypes’ potential and proposed their production in Vietnam, where Quasar had received an invitation from the Minister of Defence to develop a revolutionary surface effects boat.

At the distinguished age of 60, Quasar relocated to Ho Chi Minh City in 1995, rekindling his passion for furniture design.

Quasar embraced bamboo, that most quintessentially Asian of materials, discovering countless applications both grand and minute. The Bambooclette prototype bicycle, fashioned entirely from this organic medium, was conceived in Da Nang in 1994 for a Parisian exhibition. His bamboo works have evolved to encompass bamboo and metal furnishings, ultimately leading to the production of aluminium sand castings.

“We discovered an artisanal aluminium foundry in Cholon,” recalls Michèle, lamenting the absence of camera phones in that era. “You would have had quite the footage! American jeeps and helicopters were stacked everywhere – quite the spectacular scene.”

At the atelier, Vietnamese artisans enlisted by Michèle and Quasar employed a traditional sand casting technique, whereby a sand mould is created from a model before molten aluminium is carefully poured. Following natural cooling, the sand layer is delicately removed, after which the piece undergoes meticulous hand-grinding and polishing until achieving a luminous, pristine finish.

“This is truly artisanal craftsmanship,” Michèle explains of their manufacturing approach. “In France, such methods have largely disappeared. Industrial moulds produce near-perfect pieces requiring minimal finishing. Sand casting creates something altogether more raw – but utterly unique.”

Regarding mass production possibilities, Michèle is quite clear: “Quasar has no interest in that realm. It’s an entirely different venture. We’re creating works of art—pieces for collectors.”

From this marriage of fire, sand and metal emerged the “Nervure Collection”. The forms of these new creations—chairs, armchairs, tables and lighting pieces—possess a distinctly organic quality, embodying pure Art Nouveau aesthetics. This groundbreaking series, alongside original Vietnamese designs, has become highly sought-after among discerning collectors worldwide.

The cast aluminium collection continues to flourish today, testament to Michèle's unwavering dedication. From his earlier inflatable works, Quasar evolved to creating enduring, virtually indestructible pieces designed to withstand generations. “Everything he touches becomes extraordinary,” Michèle reflects. “Creativity is his essence: he envisions it, realises it, witnesses its success. Then his mind turns to the next innovation.”

Quasar Khanh is often fondly dubbed a “mad scientist”. “He was perpetually ahead of his time,” Michèle emphasises. “The cubic car concept was unprecedented in its day. Now everyone’s producing single-seater vehicles. Similarly, his bamboo bicycles from three decades ago prefigured today’s sustainability movement.”

Ever the intrepid inventor, Quasar continued developing and patenting his innovations at his Ho Chi Minh City residence—even as his health began to decline. This pioneering spirit, with his remarkable catalogue of inventions, passed away peacefully on the night of 30 June 2016. At his side were Othello, his eldest son, and Michèle, the faithful custodian of his legacy.

As a Vietnamese luminary in the design world, Quasar Khanh devoted his life to revolutionising the landscape of invention, while inspiring, touching lives, nurturing talent, mentoring—and, indeed, learning from—countless others.

This article was translated from Stirling’s original piece and published in the print edition of Tatler Vietnam, October 2024 issue—Family & Legacy

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