Tom Trandt: the narratives of garments

This article first appeared on Hive Life.

Tom Trandt’s design was exhibited at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City when he was still a junior at Parsons School of Design. Saigon-based Moi Dien, his flagship brand, has been featured in fashion magazines such as Harper’s Bazaar, Elle and L’Officiel. Before entering the International Fashion Showcase 2019 in London, Tom Trandt sat down with Hive Life to talk about fashion’s narratives.

With a languid and architecture presence, Moi Dien is a testament to Tom Trandt's infatuation with textures and drapery. Made of materials ranging from shimmering fine silk to furniture fabrics, his designs carry an aura that is eccentric, soulful, and sharply individual. “The wearer, or our audience, is part of the making process. They can complete the story on their own,” Tom Trandt talks about the deeply intimate relationship between fabrics and the human body. With Moi Dien (“moi”: lips, “dien”: crazy in Vietnamese), he refuses to let garments overpower the wearer’s personality: “I don’t want to tell them a story that’s finished. The work in progress is what holds the appeal. A raw hem, to me, is something very romantic. I like a creation which you may think is lacking something, because that something is what really inspires me.”

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