Cultural industry through the lens of traditional materials

Indigenous and traditional culture is an endless resource for developing cultural industries in various fields, but not everyone is successful. However, there is one young man, Nguyen Viet Nam, who has created new stories from the materials of life and traditional culture. He is the founder of the creative enterprise Tired City.

Tired City’s products, ranging from shirts, hats, and bags to keychains, are the creative interpretations of cultural symbols, such as dragons, folk paintings, traditional art forms, or life stories like street vendors or iced tea cups.

Folk art forms like ca tru (ceremonial singing), tuong (classic drama), or cheo (Vietnamese traditional opera), which are often unfamiliar to younger generations, have been reintroduced to and welcomed by Gen Y and Gen Z audiences through chibi-style illustrations.

Breathing new life into traditional culture

The Traditional Melodies fashion collection includes dozens of designs, each telling a story about a different form of folk performance art. These could depict a general stepping out of a tuong play, a quan ho singer wearing a traditional flat palm hat with fringes, a ca tru performer or a comedian from a cheo play.

These art forms, typically associated with older generations, now appear on Tired City’s products and are warmly embraced by the youth. Bui Da Yen, a young customer, proudly showed off her new sweater: “This sweater has an illustration of ca tru artists. The elderly musician and the singer both have bright, humorous, and youthful smiles. This design is so unique that I think people will be curious and ask about it when I wear it.”

Similarly, other playful and youthful designs have been printed on T-shirts, sweatshirts, and bags, bringing a fresh wave of interest to the Traditional Melodies collection. These designs, created by artist Chung Phạm, reinterpret tradition with a modern flair.

While Traditional Melodies draws from folk performance art, the Thirty-Six collection reimagines products sold in Hanoi’s 36 Old Streets through the unique lens of artist Giang Gio. The name “Thirty-Six” refers to the northern Vietnamese colloquial term for these streets.

This collection features designs inspired by goods from streets like Hang Quat, Hang Dao, Hang Than and Hang Long, blending a modern aesthetic with traditional influences. Even Hanoi street vendors have their own collection, alongside other familiar urban landscapes, old-style houses, and nostalgic themes like “what we ate as kids.”

Tired City was established in 2016 and has over ten stores in Hanoi on major streets such as Hang Bong, Hang Gai, and Hang Trong. The company has produced hundreds of collections, all inspired by traditional culture and daily life. The founder, Nguyen Viet Nam, born in 1990, studied architecture at Hanoi University of Civil Engineering.

“I was born in Thai Nguyen but moved to Hanoi at the age of 13. I couldn’t explain why Hanoi felt special to me. After travelling to many places, I realised Hanoi is unique in its blend of French colonial architecture, collective housing, and modern structures. The city’s cultural depth and urban life are rich resources. If tapped effectively, these elements can not only enhance product value but also promote Hanoi’s cultural beauty,” said Nguyen Viet Nam.

Traditional culture and aspects of Hanoi life have long been explored in fields such as fashion and handicrafts, but not everyone finds success. The challenge lies in turning this “resource” into marketable products that sell well. The first Tired City store opened in 2016 with eight young staff members and cautious optimism. Nguyen Viet Nam has since found a way to turn creativity into tangible results.

Cultivating creativity

Recently, Tired City and the Centre for Cultural and Scientific Activities at Van Mieu–Quoc Tu Giam organised an exhibition titled ‘Folk Art in Gen Z’ at the Van Mieu–Quoc Tu Giam heritage site. The exhibit featured 39 works by three artists born in the 2000s, showcasing Vietnam’s folk culture through mediums like hat boi (tuong), Dong Ho folk paintings, and traditional verses and rhymes.

Artist Phuong Vy (alias Vei Vei) from Ho Chi Minh City focused on hat boi. Her projects, Boi Tu and Boi Ky reinterpret hat boi through illustrated symbols and narratives of classical plays and characters.

Meanwhile, artist Meaptopia (An Ho) created humorous, folk-inspired images based on Dong Ho paintings. Instead of traditional formats, familiar motifs like the Dong Ho cat were reimagined in playful and lively scenes that resonate with the youth.

Another artist, Pao, explored the quirky genre of “reversed proverbs” in her work Ve Noi Nguoc. Traditionally passed down orally, these playful Vietnamese verses were visualised in whimsical depictions, such as “A swarm of locusts chasing a perch” or “A frog biting a snake’s neck.”

Phuong Vy noted that Gen Z is highly interested in traditional culture, and each individual can preserve Vietnamese cultural identity in their own way. Success, she emphasised, comes from skillfully leveraging the vast resources of national culture.

This was the second collaboration between Van Mieu–Quoc Tu Giam Centre and Tired City. Earlier, during the Lunar New Year celebration, the Drawing the Dragon exhibition left a lasting impression, symbolising the continuity of traditional culture.

Director of the Centre, Le Xuan Kieu, expressed his hopes for Van Mieu to become a creative space that feels “younger.” By collaborating with Tired City, the centre aims to showcase the vitality of national culture as it flows into the creative works of Gen Z artists, ensuring the development of cultural heritage across generations.

Tired City continuously organises competitions and exhibitions, exploring traditional cultural values and local life. The enterprise simultaneously engages in community activities and commercial product development, with each aspect supporting the other. Some works from exhibitions like Folk Art in Gen Z have been transformed into marketable products.

The secret behind Tired City’s success lies in fostering creativity. A few years after its inception, the company founded the Vietnam Local Artist Group, a creative community with over 100,000 members.

“The first thing I thought about was how the community could benefit its members. The forum allows young, lesser-known artists to interact, share experiences, and discover new opportunities. Competitions and exhibitions are part of community development. This community also serves as a source of artwork for Tired City. When artists’ works are used, they are paid royalties and gain more recognition, which motivates further creativity,” said Nguyen Viet Nam.

Many artists and businesses attempt to incorporate folk culture and local life into their work, but not all succeed. Some fall into repetitive patterns or lose momentum over time. With its innovative approach, Nguyen Viet Nam and Tired City continue to write their own unique chapter in Vietnam’s cultural story.

NDO