Thai Nguyen

In this episode, Kara sits down with Vietnamese American fashion designer Thai Nguyen, aka the fairy gown mother, to talk about the Kelly Marie Tran call that changed everything, designing an áo dài in 16 hours, family, love, embracing his Vietnamese heritage, and why he believes quality always beats quantity. Thai Nguyen is a couture fashion designer. Born in Vietnam, went on to graduate from FIDM, and in 2008 opened Thai Nguyen Atelier in Little Saigon, Orange County. A central inspiration in Thai’s work is the áo dài, Vietnam’s traditional dress. He blends cultural heritage with high fashion, elevating this iconic garment with couture craftsmanship. He has dressed people you may know, such as: J.Lo, Ariana Grande, Cindy Crawford, Kelly Marie Tran just to name a few. He dresses women for insane red carpet moments at the Met Gala, the Oscars, but also dresses women on one of their most important days: their wedding day. Thai is also a familiar face on television, most notably as a co-host and designer on Netflix’s Say I Do, where he creates custom wedding gowns for deserving brides with moving personal stories. He built an empire. And the women he dresses, on the red carpet and in the fitting room, walk out of his atelier feeling, in his words, like fairy tale versions of themselves. Which is why he calls himself, the fairy gownmother. Instagram: @thainguyenatelier | https://www.thainguyenatelier.com/ | Order Mai’s Áo Dài Book written by Thai :https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Mais-Ao-Dai/Thai-Nguyen/9781665917346 This is an AAGC Originals Podcast, brought to you by Asian American Girl Club. https://open.spotify.com/show/2iiTyiAhiuZD6LCBCeCOkp Executive produced by Ally Maki, Jenna Ushkowitz, Tia Samn and Kara Wang Intro Music: (OMG) by Gloria Kim https://open.spotify.com/track/0Ni3UTucdl8y2j3EG4w5PB Edited by: Jacob Ho Special Thanks to Oscar Alva Follow AAGC! Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/asianamericangirlclub/ Sign up for updates for the latest content, merch, and so much more! https://app.fanded.com/club/asianamericangirlclub https://www.asianamericangirlclub.com