It is not uncommon for a designer to create a brand based on what they like to wear or would want to wear. Ralph Lauren, as revealed in the documentary “Very Ralph,” created a tie brand because he couldn’t find the kinds of ties he wanted. Donna Karan created an entire fashion legacy based on clothes that she wanted to wear. And Diana Vreeland created the “wrap dress” according to her needs a young working mother.
Vietnamese designer Hanh Merriman has done something similar. Growing up in Vietnam, Hanh Merriman had no concept of fashion design, pattern making or even ready-to-wear clothes. “When I was growing up in Vietnam there were not a lot of fashion design opportunities. Things are different there now. Back in the day, there was no ready to wear. You would go to the tailor and the tailor would make clothes for you. I had no concept of pattern making or designing clothes. There were no malls or retail, ready-to-wear clothes, everything was made by a dressmaker,” explained Merriman.
HANH MERRIMAN Fall 2019
Still, that lack did not suppress her love of fashion. And in Vietnam, Hanh would express her love of fashion through garments that were unusual and unexpected. “I love things that are unusual; I also love asymmetrical cuts and designs. Even back in Vietnam I would ask the dressmaker to make asymmetrical garments for me. That was 40 years ago. I wanted things that were off-the-shoulder with triangle and rectangular cuts. That was very weird for style in Vietnam at that time. I believe that fashion should be fun. I always wanted something that was different from what everyone else was wearing.”
After moving in the US in 1994, Hanh became noted through her fashion and travel blog, Life in Travel, for her innate sense of style. Even famed photographer the late Bill Cunningham was seduced by Hahn inimitable sense of style. Hahn was even featured in Vanity Fair’s International Best Dressed List, as well as in local publications DFW Style Daily, D Magazine, and Dallas Modern Luxury.
HANH MERRIMAN Fall 2019
However, being a style maven was enough for Hanh. She wanted something more. And she discovered what that more was when she decided to update her wardrobe and couldn’t find the kinds of clothes she wanted. Starting with just 10 looks she designed, Hanh started to get lots of compliments on her clothes at the many events she attended in Dallas. “Everyone asked me about these looks and wanted to know where they could purchase the garments. Everyone told me that I should have my own fashion line, and they would buy the clothes. This gave me a lot of confidence to launch my own fashion line. I took the risk and now here we are two years later.”
That said; Hanh Merriman’s collections are designed for that women who wants to stand out in a crowd, who is also ready for something different. “My customer is very brave and loves fashion and is not afraid to express themselves through what they wear.” And brave and confident she must be. The perfect pairing of pop and restraint is how Hanh Merriman defines her brand’s aesthetic. The women’s ready-to-wear collection is composed of edgy and bold, yet elegantly restrained pieces, which are defined by fine fabrics and the perfect fit.
This juxtaposition of elegance and edginess is perfectly expressed in Hanh Merriman’s spring 2020 collection which is both elegantly timeless and boldly fashion forward. In other words, in as the great fashion editor Diana Vreeland would say, “now and next.”
HANH MERRIMAN spring 2019 images courtesy of Seventh House PR
“I took a trip with my family to the Southwest—Utah, Arizona, and some cities in California. I was inspired by the rock formations that I witnessed in the Southwest and just the calmness of life in the Southwest. In my spring 2020 collection I use a very calm color palette composed of pale and deep blues, beige, white, and a deep orange which relates to the rock formations,” explains Merriman.
Out of necessity a unique and fashion-forward fashion line has emerged. And in just under two years, Hanh Merriman has expanded to designing for someone other than herself. Well, maybe unconsciously she always was. Whether designing clothes for just herself or herself and other women, Hanh Merriman has tapped into what modern women want to wear, and it is time for the entire fashion industry to stand up and take notice!!
—William S. Gooch
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