Meet Vietnam’s Most Dedicated Denimheads

Stridewise visits the unlikely raw denim haven of Ho Chi Minh city and discusses the love of indigo with their denimhead scene.

Nick English

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This article comes to us from Nick English, the founder of  Stridewise, a blog and YouTube channel that explores casual and durable menswear and footwear, with a big emphasis on boots and jeans. So far, he’s covered the scene in ten different countries and in his spare time he reports on fitness for Men’s Health and The World’s Strongest Man.

With its tropical climate and rocky history — to say the absolute least — with US foreign policy, one might be surprised to learn that Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh City hosts a thriving community of denimheads devoted to Americana and vintage US military apparel.

But when a friend moved to the city formerly known as Saigon, a moniker its denizens still regularly use, he insisted that I meet the band of bootmakers, denim factory owners, and other creatives connected through the Vietnam Raw Denim Community, a Facebook group 32,000 strong.

As a dude with a blog about heritage wear, I’d already encountered a few “raw denim communities” around the globe: Tri State Denim Hangs regularly meet in Manhattan and I visit London often enough that I’ve wound up at some of their own jeans-and-boots hangouts.

But, like. Isn’t Vietnam hot? 

Why Raw Denim in Vietnam?

“One of the most important things about raw denim is you feel a reward,” says Tu Pham, owner of local selvedge brand Copper Denim. “The denim will fade and look completely different from other people based on your activities. For some people, raw denim is like a goal: ‘I gotta wear these jeans, and I gotta do this, do that, to achieve a look that only I have.’ It gives them spiritual encouragement.” 

Now, that line is certainly great fodder for the kind of Westerner who imagines Southeast Asians as so dazzlingly spiritual that they find sacred meaning in the most banal of blue pants, but I also knew Tu had a denimhead’s flair for lyricism. When I turned the question on some other members, I got much more practical answers.

“We move around using motorbikes a lot,” explains VNRD co-founder Trung Le, who makes hand welted boots as Akito Boots. “Having a pair of thick jeans protects our legs in case of minor accidents, so I can put my mind at ease.”

“Wearing denim, in general, is a way to protect against the sun,” adds Nhan Ngyuen, VNRD’s Editor-in-Chief. “It prevents overtanning and protects against dust. It’s a bit like protection when you’re on the road.”

Even in the heat, denim still has utility as durable workwear. 

“I work outdoors, so I need something rugged and tough,” says VNRD’s Tri Huynh. “That’s why I chose jeans and boots. It also suits my style with its masculine vibe, making it a great choice.”

“Electrician Style” — Vietnam’s Canadian Tuxedo

Karl regularly spots the city’s electricians when he’s driving around town because their uniforms are so recognizable: denim on denim.

“I think that the electrician style, like (Vietnam’s Central Electricity Company), is very popular in Vietnam because denim is very durable,” explains Nhan Nguyen. “Its protection against sunlight and the weather is amazing. Coincidentally, what we’re wearing today has the same hue as the electricians wear.”

The term “electrician style” was actually coined by another VNRD co-founder, Bach Dinh. 

“It dates back to when I noticed a group of engineers working on a troubled transformer station,” he told Karl. “Their uniform is a standard issue denim jacket and pants, but under Ho Chi Minh City’s intense sun, and in the eyes of a denim freak like me, they had faded so beautifully.”

Vietnam and Americana?

Since you’re reading this on Heddels, there’s actually a good chance you weren’t surprised by the existence of a tropical denim subculture. This site has discussed such communities throughout the region: Bangkok hosted the Pronto Denim Carnival for over ten years, Denimheads Singapore is gathering momentum, and Indonesia hosts a staggering amount of selvedge brands. 

Even knowing all this, I was surprised to find this community of jeans and Pacific Northwest boots. Vietnam, of course, has good reasons to shun 20th century Americana. Levi’s was even an unofficial part of SEAL combat uniforms during what Vietnam calls “The American War.” And yet, denim emerged as something of a status symbol and fashion statement after the Americans left.

Local outlet The Saigoneer suggests this stemmed from their rarity: a decades-long trade ban between the two countries made jeans hard to come by, as did the fact that they were banned in some areas of the country for symbolizing American capitalism. Denim history buffs may recall that a similar phenomenon was playing out in the Soviet Union.

“I think denim got popular in Vietnam during the wartime,” says Tu, who emphasizes that the war is over, the hate is over. “(Denim) is a legacy the Americans left behind. A cultural legacy.”

Today, Levi’s even has a production plant in the country’s Northern Ninh Binh province. But Tu says that the raw, selvedge kind of denim still has a lot of room to grow — something he’s betting on with his brand, Copper Denim.

“People in Vietnam, they don’t care much about selvedge denim right now — so there’s opportunities,” he says. “We just need to educate them, let them try it. Show them the way.”

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