Bio

Tiffy Nguyen Thien Thao started her brand SOUTHEAST in 2020, inspired by thrifting culture and upcycling clothes. SOUTHEAST reconstructs old garments from friends and thrift stores with a DIY experimental touch, and their designs are inspired by local Vietnamese outcasts and labourers. The brand collaborates with recyclers to keep clothing materials in use for longer. 

Tiffy Nguyen Thien Thao was a Redress Design Award 2023 Semi-finalist.

“Fashion finds new talent, new creativity, new blood and wastes away the old. It is this cycle that I want to tackle, in both my design and my construction.” – Nguyen Thi Thien Thao

redress Design Award Collection

Thao’s Redress Design Award collection, 'RESIDUAL', is a rebuttal against the status quo, extends the concept of circularity in fashion to not just materials but also ideas, recycling both from her previous collections. Designing for low-impact materials and processes, she uses deadstock fabrics and scraps sourced from local fashion labels in her native Vietnam, as well as worsted wool and organic cotton – designing with monofibre materials for  recyclability. To make the textile surface water-resistant and durable, Thao treats them with beeswax as an alternative to high-impact materials such as polyethylene or polyester.

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