Hanoi has always been a city of makers. Its Old Quarter grew up as a grid of guild streets, each once named for the goods sold there, and that spirit of craft still runs through the capital today. A slow day spent on silk and lacquer in Hanoi takes you from embroidery houses and designer ateliers to a museum of lacquer painting and a weaving village with roots that reach back centuries.
Here are six stops for a style-minded day, from heirloom pieces to wearable art.
1. Hang Gai, the Silk Street
Start where generations of shoppers have started. Hang Gai, a few steps from Hoan Kiem Lake, is lined with shops selling silk scarves, embroidered linens and made-to-measure clothing. Wander its length before you buy. Bolts of color stack to the ceiling, tailors measure with practiced speed, and the street hums with the pleasant business of choosing.
2. Tan My Design
At 61 Hang Gai, Tan My Design is a family story told in thread. Its founder, Bach Thi Ngai, began by embroidering handkerchiefs, and the business passed to her daughter and granddaughter, who grew it into a polished showroom for Hanoi embroidery and silk. Today the house offers embroidered linens, silk clothing, lacquerware and home pieces, all chosen with a clear eye. Look for the finely stitched bedding and table linens, the kind of gift that stays in a family for years.
3. Chula
Few Hanoi labels are as joyful as Chula. Founded by the Spanish couple Diego Cortizas and Laura Fontán after they moved to the city in 2004, the house reimagines the ao dai and evening wear with bold color, clean lines and textiles drawn from Vietnam’s many cultures. The Hanoi atelier and flagship occupy a 19th-century house with wooden beams and red brick floors, with the workshop just above the shop. Laura Fontán now leads the brand, and its pieces, often made to order, feel closer to wearable art than to seasonal fashion. Garments are made in-house, and the team’s patchwork and appliqué work turns even small offcuts into something beautiful.
4. Kilomet109
Head north to the shore of West Lake for Kilomet109, the slow-fashion label of designer Thao Vu. Her clothing, accessories and jewelry draw on Vietnamese textile traditions, reworked with a modern, minimal hand. It’s a calm, considered place to shop, and a lovely contrast to the color of the Old Quarter.
5. Lacquer in Hanoi: The Vietnam Fine Arts Museum and Hanoia House
Vietnamese lacquer painting, son mai, is a slow and painstaking art, built up layer by layer and polished until color seems to glow from within. To see it at its finest, visit the Vietnam Fine Arts Museum at 66 Nguyen Thai Hoc Street, set in a French colonial building near Ba Dinh. Its collection runs from Bronze Age Dong Son drums to 20th-century painting, and the lacquer works are among its great highlights. As of this writing, its hours run from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., so check before you go.
Then take the craft home. Hanoia House, on Hang Dao Street in the Old Quarter, is the city’s lacquer boutique of choice, selling homewares, jewelry and decorative pieces in a historic building arranged around open-air courtyards. Trays, boxes and bangles come in deep reds, blacks and gold leaf, finished with a sheen that photographs never quite capture.
6. Van Phuc Silk Village
End the day outside the center. About 10 kilometers from the Old Quarter, in Ha Dong on the Nhue River, Van Phuc has long been known as the cradle of Vietnamese silk, with a weaving tradition often described as one of the oldest in the country. You can still hear looms clattering behind open doors and watch weavers at work, then browse shirts, ties, dresses and lengths of silk in the village shops. Old wells, lotus ponds and shady trees give the lanes a gentle, rural feel.
Tips for Shopping Silk and Lacquer in Hanoi
- Allow at least two or three days for made-to-measure pieces, including a fitting.
- Ask shops to wrap lacquerware well for travel; most do so beautifully.
- Mornings are the calmest time to browse Hang Gai and the Old Quarter.
- Bring a favorite garment if you’d like a tailor to copy its cut.
