Launched in 2014 at a time when local brands were still a rather strange concept in Vietnam, TimTay is a "purely Vietnamese" design fashion brand pursuing a sustainable and environmentally friendly lifestyle. founded by two sisters Hoang Tu and Hoang Anh. Let's listen to the sharing of Hoang Anh - Co-founder TimTay about the fashion brand inspired by culture along with stories revolving around craft villages, fine arts, painting, music, and life. …


Hello Hoang Anh, can you share the story of TimTay and why TimTay?



Founded in 2014, TimTay was founded by Hoang Tu and I am Hoang Anh. Ms. Tu is the main designer for the Collections and I am in charge of branding and business development. Ms. Tu had a very different design mindset in 2014 - a time when the concept of "local brands" was still quite strange in Vietnam. I saw the beauty, thoughts and stories behind those designs, so the two sisters decided to build their own fashion brand together. 

TimTay is a purely Vietnamese name and is also the "lodestone" of the brand. Heart is the heart, Hand is the hand - implying that the designs made come from the heart, from hands that love crafts. TimTay wants to send a message of endless creativity, a lifestyle that accepts differences, contributing to raising awareness and appreciation of customers, especially domestic customers, about domestic products. .  TimTay's inspiration often comes from culture. TimTay's story revolves around craft villages, fine arts, painting, music, life... 

Is TimTay a sustainable brand? What are TimTay's commitments to meet the criteria of a sustainable brand?

TimTay does not dare to admit that it is "a sustainable brand" but only "a brand that pursues a sustainable lifestyle" or "develops in the direction of sustainability". For us this is a journey of constant improvement and change, unless we gain some kind of certificate to confirm, otherwise it will be too permissive to call ourselves.  

After 07 years of operation, TimTay is also very proud to have found a more sustainable development direction to be able to maintain the following commitments: 

• All designs are committed to using naturally derived materials such as linen yarn, cotton yarn, pure silk, etc. so that the decomposition process in the environment can take place as quickly as possible, as well as bring friendliness and originality to the wearer's skin.
• TimTay selects reputable domestic suppliers to reduce emissions during transportation and supports domestic businesses.
• The quality of the finished product is always put first. The product must have durable materials and strong seams to help extend the life of the product and be easy to apply in daily life. 
• Excess fabric in the production process is always retained for reuse and recycling into products. Most of TimTay's designs are creative according to the criteria of zero waste cutting to minimize the waste of raw materials.
• Our production plan is always scientifically arranged so that employees are never forced to work overtime. A focused, effective working environment to reduce pressure, helping to unleash creativity.

How does TimTay educate customers about sustainable fashion? How to practice sustainability properly?

TimTay educates customers with products. Tell them about the story behind the product, express the brand's perspective through design, thereby helping customers understand more about the value of the product. If they choose TimTay's product, it means that besides they love the design, they also like its story. 

To encourage sustainable consumption, TimTay has a free repair service so that customers always receive the most suitable products. In the event that the product is damaged, it is also possible to send TimTay for restoration, no matter how long you have purchased it. We also built a public group on Facebook called TimTay Exchange, encouraging customers to exchange TimTay clothes that they no longer fit to extend the life cycle of the product. 

 As the founders of the brand, what must you prepare to be able to develop the brand successfully?


Constantly cultivating knowledge, because the fashion market is fierce and hard. However, what you need to prepare for is a solid mentality, understanding the brand and putting customer service first. 

What are the common difficulties when starting a brand and how to overcome them?


My difficulties in 2014 will be different from those of you who established a brand in 2021. Specifically, in 2014, there will not be many competitors of "local brands", but it is difficult because customers at that time did not really care and appreciate domestic fashion designs. Besides, social networks are also just starting to develop in Vietnam. 

At that time, TimTay was quite alone in conveying the brand story to customers so that they had the right appreciation of the value of Vietnamese creative and handicraft products. Fortunately, the designs launched at that time were well received by many customers and loyal to the brand until now. They are the motivation for TimTay to continue to create and develop with more ambition.

Fashion is highly exclusive, so how can a brand survive and compete in a fierce market, especially when following a sustainable path, the customer base will be more "niche" and often not follow the trend?


For me, to survive, the brand needs to maintain a strong stance, find its own identity and pay special attention to customers. If the product you make only focuses on trends or is a lifeless copy, you will soon be eliminated. If you don't learn, listen, and build honest relationships with your customers, you'll soon be forgotten by your customers.


What is a brand's strategy to always keep its identity (brand personality) and stay fresh even if it doesn't follow the trend?


Actually, TimTay is always interested in updating trends in its designs. Paying attention to trends makes TimTay's designs easier to be accepted by customers. Without being framed into a creative formula, each of TimTay's Collections is a completely new story, which can collab with many characters from many different fields. Therefore, TimTay creates a sense of curiosity and anticipation every time the Collection is launched.

What factors does a sustainable fashion brand need to invest in, focus on to develop the best brand? (e.g. design, story, service, store, scale, technology, logistics, commercial platform...)

In my opinion, the first step must be a product. Your product must be created based on commitments to "sustainable fashion". Then there is the story & customer service. These are the foundations that I think must be seriously built clearly from the beginning.

How has the COVID epidemic affected brands? What has the brand done to maintain business, keep customers' concerns... to overcome the pandemic?

What I find most difficult during the COVID epidemic is that all business plans always have to change continuously, changing day by day. It requires the whole company to prepare a lot of scenarios on its own to be able to maintain sales. However, looking at it in a positive way, COVID has helped TimTay to make more drastic changes in building online channels and experiencing products online.  Some specific actions such as: Cutting offline costs to switch to online development. Improving the online customer care process, launching a home try-on service... Prioritize selling inventory products & reduce production costs and quantities.

TimTay's opinion on the potential of sustainable fashion in Vietnam in the future?

The concept of "sustainable fashion" is trending all over the world and I think this will definitely be the direction of many people building fashion brands in the future. For me, sustainable fashion is a commitment of corporate responsibility to the community and society after the consequences that the fashion industry has caused, not just a trend or trend. Young people need to learn about this concept thoroughly and correctly before embarking on building a sustainable fashion brand.

Thank you TimTay for sharing very interestingly!


Credit:
Words by Mỹ Đỗ, @Style-Repuplik, Behind the label

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