Silk had top billing in Tokyo this week. At a show called "Threads That Bind", a Vietnamese and a Japanese designer each presented collections built around the fabric, framing it as a shared heritage rather than a competitive one — Vietnamese silk traditions on one side, Japan's precision craftsmanship on the other. Guests included Ngô Phương Ly, spouse of Vietnam's Party General Secretary and State President Tô Lâm, alongside officials from the Party Central Committee's Office and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The event was framed as more than a runway moment. Organisers pointed to possible joint production and artisan exchanges between the two countries, with an eye on growing handicraft industries and pushing sustainable fashion forward.
The cultural programme continued the next day in Yokohama's Kanagawa Prefecture, where Ly joined Governor Kuroiwa Yuji to open "Dialogue", a small-sculpture exhibition pairing Vietnamese and Japanese artists at the prefecture's historic headquarters. Works were shown side by side — different in character, but with visible common ground. Vietnamese stone carving drew particular praise from Japanese visitors, who also responded to the colour and the way the pieces invited viewing from multiple angles.
One pairing stood out. Vietnam's Lê Thị Hiền, the only woman artist in the show and a sculptor who draws on origami, was placed in conversation with Horiuchi Masakazu (1911–2001), one of Japan's leading abstract sculptors, whose cut-and-folded paper works marked the start of his career. Both artists, it turns out, found their muse in paper.
For travellers, this is a nudge to look beyond the usual Tokyo–Kyoto circuit. Kanagawa — an easy hop from Tokyo — regularly hosts cross-cultural programming in venues like the prefectural government building, which doubles as an architectural landmark. And Vietnamese silk, whether seen in fashion or bought as fabric in Hoi An's tailoring shops, is one of Southeast Asia's genuinely deep craft traditions. Events like these hint at more collaborations to come, meaning travellers to either country may soon find exhibitions and artisan-led experiences that blend both cultures.
The fashion show and sculpture exhibition were among the cultural highlights of Tô Lâm's official visit to Japan, part of a diplomatic relationship that both sides note stretches back centuries — and one that increasingly plays out in galleries, ateliers and showrooms as much as in meeting rooms.
Original reporting: Vietnam News Life
