When singer Rihanna posed for an ad campaign by luxury shoemaker Manolo Blahnik, she also made a star out of the little-known Vietnamese designer who made the oversized white shirt she posed in.
For more than two decades, Nguyen Cong Tri has been crafting chic structured eveningwear made of Vietnamese-spun silk, organza or taffeta, but despite some success at home, his designs had gained less traction elsewhere.
But when Rihanna showcased his Em Hoa range, inspired by the flower sellers of Vietnam, one famous name after another — Beyonce, Naomi Campbell, Gwen Stefani, Katy Perry, and Rita Ora among them — began