Minh Phương

(Additional reporting by Hải Anh)

A group of young artists from Lamphong Studio has turned childhood dreams into a collection of hand-painted figures to celebrate Việt Nam’s upcoming 80th National Day (September 2, 1945 - 2025).

The collection, called Vinh Quang Việt Nam (The Glory of Việt Nam), is inspired by the dreams of children who hope one day to become people who protect and build the country.

These people can be soldiers guarding the borders or firefighters keeping communities safe.

“The Glory of Việt Nam is our newest collection, created especially to celebrate the 80th anniversary of Việt Nam’s National Day [September 2, 1945 - 2025]. In this collection, we chose children as the central characters and dressed them as the different forces that take part in the National Day parade,” Lê Hữu Phúc, the collection’s designer, said.

Through these figures, the artists not only bring childhood dreams to life but also pay tribute to the real people who wear these uniforms.

According to Phúc, the starting point for the project was the innocence and purity of children’s dreams.

“The idea came from the simple dreams of children. For example, a child might want to become a firefighter, a navy sailor protecting the islands, or a drummer in the parade. These are pure dreams that many of us had when we were young,” he said.

“This collection is also a way to thank the people who have worked day and night to protect peace and keep the country safe.”

The collection includes 15 unique designs and took the team four months to complete, from sketching to the final product.

The team examined the uniforms of each force carefully and added small but meaningful details that highlight the unique features of each uniform.

Dương Đức Mạnh, the collection’s painter, said the uniforms of the different forces are very formal, but children are usually linked with innocence and happiness.

"We thought carefully and decided to remove or add some details to make the figures look cuter. However, we still kept the designs close to the original uniforms so that people can recognise them immediately,” Mạnh said.

For Mạnh, the image of a firefighter was the first that came to mind during the planning stage.

“Firefighters are people we all hope never have to work, meaning we hope no fires happen," he said. "That was the first idea that came to me. When the final product was finished, I was very happy to include their work equipment like the helmet and the water hose. These are the special features of firefighters, and this figure is the one I like the most in the collection.”

Besides that, the navy soldier is also one of the more impressive designs.

“Navy soldiers who protect the islands are always quiet and humble, so I wanted to create a more familiar image," Mạnh explained.

Each figure stands 11 centimetres tall, made from pressed stone powder and fully hand-painted using traditional Vietnamese lacquer techniques. This combination of modern figure design with a centuries-old craft is what makes the collection stand out.

Nguyễn Yến Thương, one of the artists, described the process: “Lacquer is a traditional Vietnamese material. When we receive the base shape, we first sand it to make the surface smooth. Then we apply the undercoat, and next we mix the lacquer colours.”

But the process is not without its challenges. Thương pointed out that lacquer colours are limited and behave differently compared to other paints.

“Because lacquer colours are very limited, we had to adjust them carefully to make sure they looked real and worked well for each figure. For example, when painting skin colour, the wet paint looks very different from when it dries, with changes in shade and tone, so we had to estimate carefully," Thương said.

“For other details like the camouflage uniform, where the colours are very close to each other, we also had to mix and adjust the green shades to get the most accurate camouflage colour possible.”

The team believes the collection expresses patriotism in a warm, bright and hopeful depiction of children.

 Mạnh said: “We put our love for the country and pride in our nation into this collection and want to share it with everyone as a way to thank those people who work day and night to protect our land.”

“At the same time, we also want to combine our young generation’s creativity with traditional lacquer materials to reach more people, especially young people, as part of keeping Việt Nam’s cultural heritage alive.”

The collection is part of the group’s long-running project Em bé Việt Nam (Vietnamese Children), which tells stories about Việt Nam’s people and culture through the playful and innocent image of children. This project has already included works such as Children of Three Regions and Ethnic Minority Children, each focusing on a different aspect of Vietnamese heritage.

“The Vietnamese Children project is where we tell stories about culture and our pride in the homeland through the image of children. Each series focuses on a specific theme, but the message is always about love for the country,” designer Phúc said.

“In the future, we want to tell more stories about Việt Nam through projects like this, so that we can introduce the image of the country and its people to the world.”

The team hopes that The Glory of Việt Nam will travel beyond Việt Nam’s borders, reaching collectors and art lovers worldwide. By doing so, they not only share the country’s rich traditions but also show how childhood imagination can inspire pride and unity. VNS