How Hoa Minzy brought history to life through music and costume design

To create an MV that touches millions and achieves such milestones, every detail was treated with care. Costumes played a particularly vital role, lending the visuals authenticity, emotion and nostalgia. From the outset, stylist Khuc Manh Quan envisioned a collection for the Bac Bling singer that would echo the image of young rural women from decades past.

Following detailed discussions, the team understood that authenticity was paramount. To truly capture the image of Vietnamese women during the subsidy years, the costumes had to reflect historical accuracy. That meant stripping away modern or decorative elements and embracing the thrift, simplicity and everyday style of the era. The team avoided printed fabrics or modern textures, as small floral motifs were a rarity then, found only among wealthier households. For most farmers, clothing was plain, monochrome, and made of rough fabric. Even white garments were unusual, reserved for occasions such as weddings. Thus, the scene of Hoa Minzy wearing a white shirt to greet her husband carries both artistic symbolism and historical accuracy.

The overall colour scheme of the costumes was kept within a familiar palette: peace green, brown, beige and purple. Peace green, a shade associated with the memories of an entire generation, often recalled by parents, became a distinctive marker of this collection. In terms of style, off-the-shoulder blouses, round necks and lotus necklines were the most frequently chosen.

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One of the elements the stylist and crew took particular care with was the fabric. “I discovered that during the subsidy years, people often wore raw cloth and linen,” Khuc Manh Quan explained. “But on film, those materials crease easily and are difficult to manage when moving, especially under the studio lights. After many discussions, the team settled on phin fabric, a fine cotton, lightly structured yet still evoking the sense of old textiles. We occasionally used linen or raw cloth for specific scenes, but sparingly, to avoid distracting the audience with an untidy appearance.”

In this MV, Hoa Minzy appeared in nine to ten costumes, each designed specifically for her. The sequences showing her character’s pregnancy proved the most demanding. As the MV depicts two stages of pregnancy, around seven months and nine months, the stylist had to confer continuously with the director to adjust the size of the prosthetic belly. Though the bellies were rented, they were measured precisely to fit Hoa Minzy, ensuring the proportions remained natural. Every costume was calculated with precision, not only for style but also for width and flexibility.

To lend the costumes an authentic, timeworn appearance, the stylist steeped them in tea or coffee to discolour the fabrics, creating the impression of garments passed down through years of wear. Accessories were chosen with equal care. A conical hat, although easy to source, needed the patina of age. The stylist bought a new hat, then exchanged it at a local market for one that had already been worn. Handkerchiefs, common accessories used to wipe sweat or tied beneath hat straps, were prepared in multiple colours and quantities. Traditional hairpins, including the blue ones favoured by young women, were also included, each accessory made in duplicate or triplicate to guard against loss or mishaps on set.

The result is a set of costumes both simple and evocative, transporting audiences back to the Vietnamese countryside of the subsidy years. When music, narrative and costumes converge, the MV tells not only a tale of love but also awakens a collective nostalgia, drawing viewers into a deeply personal reflection of memory.

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