Tuan Hiep, a close friend of mine at LCDF, someone who is full of energy and is always there when you need him. What I am most impressed about him was his liveliness, his energetic spirit as a design student. Hiep is especially skilled at pattern making and also a spectacular makeup artist! Of all the freshmen in my class, Hiep took charge of all the concept make-up from dainty, natural looks to the most rebellious, outstanding and unique ones. Unlike his other peers, Hiep was employed since 10th grade which brought him his fierce independence and was an inspiration in many ways. Tuan Hiep shares his stories as well as his destiny with fashion.
“I thought my life took a turn the second I went into the field of makeup. I thought I didn’t have a keen interest in fashion, but it turns out it was my passion. In the beginning, I thought having a makeup career would help me chase my dreams of being a fashion designer. My parents did not support that dream of mine that day. They were not wrong when they said studying fashion was costly and they would be skeptical if the investment was worth it. Since then, I told myself that I had to earn money before I pursued my passions. It was to my surprise that makeup was the exact thing that gave me what I’ve always wanted.
I’ve always wanted my own phone, my customers’ approval on various social media, changing my appearance to truly express who I am deep down. Ultimately, I wanted to help my parents by alleviating the costs of studying Fashion, as well as costs of living in Ha Noi as I live in Thai Nguyen. By the day before university started, I did all of that.
To be frank, I believed that it was the result of academic persistence, to always train and educate myself and ask myself the question: “How come they can do it but I can’t?” “Nothing is impossible” is a sentence that resonates deeply within me. If I haven’t accomplished it yet, then maybe I haven’t tried hard enough, or I haven’t reached the right conclusions because of lack of knowledge.
My affirmations and grounded judgement are what drives me to keep working everyday. I am proud of all my accomplishments, but I know I have to do more. I will never stand in one place but I will always move forward. Pursuing fashion as I’ve always aspired to has led me to the day that I can overcome familial and economic barriers, and that took a while. I would not back down from a challenge, but I know that the community I have, the friends that always motivate and encourage me make me feel much more at ease about the road ahead. I may still only be a freshman but I will march into life and find my own place. Sure, it will cost me greatly and I have paid the price by making mistakes but I simply must not give up, not be afraid and ready to face these ups and downs to find my place. Even if I made those mistakes, those mistakes are worthy.
Dinh Tuan Hiep - freshman at LCDF - Hanoi
Student awarded with Distinction for the assignment “WHITE SHIRT PROJECT” with the final model displayed in the university lobby.