Vietnamese consumers have made a gradual shift towards domestic products in recent years. While the effect has happened across industries, the most visible impacts have arisen in the fashion world. Boutique brands like Hayho Concept, Profile Man and Moi Dien are offering an alternative to international stores such as Zara and Topshop, while bag and streetwear brands like JamLos and Saigon Swagger have surged in popularity.

Amidst all if this excitement, however, the modern Vietnamese footwear industry has remained largely unchanged. Companies’ focuses have remained primarily on exports, and consumers have opted for foreign-owned brands, many of which are in fact manufactured right here in Vietnam. As of yet, few Vietnam made and owned brands have appeared on the market.

This changed when, in early 2018, MỘT was launched in Saigon with the tagline “One pair, all day.” The goal? To satisfy shoe lovers with elegant design and big brand quality.

“We’ve spent the last year working on design, production, and media content,” says Huynh Quang Ngoc Han, co-founder of MỘT. “But it is still just the beginning. We launched in a bit of a hurry, just to gauge people’s response to the design, and now we’re continuing to refine what we do.”

MỘT’s initial efforts to build its modern Vietnamese footwear brand has paid dividends. In just one year it has become a well-known name amongst young, style-conscious Vietnamese.

While MỘT’s debut year has been promising, they are still far from being a household name. But the brand promises to expand its reach further, and Huynh hopes they might one day become a big name brand representative for the Vietnamese footwear industry.

We first met Huynh a year ago, when she shared her initial branding ideas with us. But after a year in the market, we meet again to hear more about the past, present and future of MỘT.

MỘT - A Newfound Pride In Vietnamese Footwear-0

Huynh Han, co-founder of MỘT, speaks to us about the company’s past, present, and future.

MỘT - A Newfound Pride In Vietnamese Footwear