Vietnam Style reveals charm from north to south

The comprehensive photo collection Vietnam Style examines Vietnamese architecture and design from its ancient roots to the present day with images from throughout Vietnam.

Anna Craven-Smith-Milnes with Vietnam Style in Ho Chi Minh City

The book, with photographs by Luca Invernizzi Tettoni and text by Bertrand de Hartingh and Anna Craven-Smith-Milnes, tells its stories using pictures that juxtapose pagodas and villages with French and Chinese homes using both modern metropolises and the Vietnamese countryside as its backdrops.

Milnes first came to Vietnam from the United Kingdom in 1989 while studying to obtain her bachelor’s degree in South East Asian History and Vietnamese Culture at the University of London.

After her graduation in 1991, Milnes began traveling in and around Vietnam researching investment opportunities for foreign companies.

In 1994, she organized a fashion shoot for Elle magazine in Ho Chi Minh City, one of the first international art events to take place in the southern metro area.

She moved to Hanoi full time in 1996 and then found herself migrating down to HCMC in 2001, when she met Luca Invernizzi Tettoni and Bertrand de Hartingh and the idea for Vietnam Style was born.

“Seeing all the French style buildings and villas around my place at that time has encouraged me to make a book about Vietnamese architecture and design through out the ages.” said Milnes.

Tettoni is an award-winning photographer from Italy who has lived and worked in Asia since 1973 while Hartingh moved from France to Vietnam in 1990 and has been working in Hanoi as a researcher, scientific advisor and translator.

Vietnam is a country filled with captivating natural beauty, tranquil village life and fascinating cities, says Milnes, gushing about what she describes as the country’s rich cultural history.

For Milnes, the richness of Vietnam’s culture is evident in thegraceful architecture of its historic temples and pagodas, the originality and sophistication of its literature and art, and the innovation of its cuisine.

Inspired by these traits, as well as the country’s impressive French architecture, Milnes, Tettoni and Hartingh began traveling through Vietnam in 2002, looking into houses, peering into rooms, chatting with locals and shooting as many photos as they could.

Milnes says the area in and around Hue was the most impressive part of her journey.

She was fascinated by the ancient imperial city’s history, especially since the 18th century, which she says was a time when Vietnam went through many changes.

Milnes revealed she was interested in the city, which was the country’s center of education, culture and arts under the Nguyen Dynasty (1802-1945), the last ruling family in Vietnam.

She has also revealed that all the proceeds from the sales of Vietnam Style have gone directly to the Indochina Media Memorial Foundation (IMMF), where she has sat as board director since 2000.

IMMF runs photojournalism workshops for Vietnam’s up and coming photojournalists.

The last workshop took place in May 2007 and the next one will be in February 2009.

Source: TN