In the colourful workshop of Nguyen Vu Hoai in To Hieu ward, handbags, scarves and fashion items featuring intricate brocade patterns immediately catch the eye. Hoai, who works in the culture, sports and tourism sector, has had opportunities to visit highland hamlets and see the generations-old beauty preserved in brocade, as well as the patience and meticulous work of the people who make it. That inspired her to find ways to take brocade beyond the hamlets where it originated.

She has spent years creating hand-embroidered brocade products as gifts for customers who share her interest in traditional crafts and for tourists. At the recent Son La Tourism Gift Competition 2026, her two-in-one bag and wallet won a consolation prize, with judges praising its practicality.

“Son La’s ethnic brocade is very beautiful,” Hoai said. “I combine it with modern materials such as leather and fabric to make souvenirs including scarves, wallets, bags and laptop cases. I believe that even a small gift can carry an entire cultural story, allowing visitors to feel the distinctive character of Son La’s mountains and forests whenever they hold it.”

For Trang Thi Du, a young Mong woman from Hua Tat hamlet in Van Ho commune, bringing new life to brocade starts with everyday life and community-based tourism at her family’s Hua Tat Mong Retreat homestay. Working by the fire, she uses beeswax to draw patterns on indigo-dyed fabric before carefully embroidering each motif. The work helps preserve traditional craftsmanship while turning the homestay itself into a cultural experience for visitors.

Recently, brocade made by Du and other women in the hamlet was selected by a designer to create a distinctive performance outfit for singer Hoa Minzy at the first Son La International Brocade Festival 2026.

“When I saw a piece of brocade from my ethnic group appear on a big stage in such a spectacular way and be embraced by so many viewers, I was deeply moved,” Du said. “It gives young people working with brocade more confidence that ethnic culture can remain vibrant alongside modern times if it is renewed in the right way.”

Brocade is also being developed beyond individual creations, with businesses, cooperatives and community-based tourism sites across Son La using it to decorate accommodation and restaurants, create spaces that reflect local ethnic identities, and develop cultural experiences such as beeswax painting, indigo dyeing, weaving and embroidery.

Visitors can experience these activities at the Northwest Cultural Space, commonly known as Moc Chau Night Market and Walking Street; the agricultural and cultural products display area at the Dai Yem Waterfall Ecotourism Area; the Thai cultural experience space operated by Bon Community Tourism Cooperative in Muong Chien commune; Nam Nghep Cooperative in Ngoc Chien commune; and Hoang Long Brocade Craft Village Cooperative in Moc Son ward.

Luong Thi Loat, Director of Hoang Long Brocade Craft Village Cooperative, said the cooperative has 20 members and operates a homestay while growing cotton, weaving fabric and producing brocade products such as scarves, bags, wallets, blankets, pillows and Thai mattresses.

The cooperative produces about 600 to 700 brocade products a year, selling them to tourists and displaying them at tourism fairs and conferences, she said.

The momentum from the first Son La International Brocade Festival 2026, combined with the enthusiasm of local communities and timely policy support, is giving brocade a new lease on life. The craft is preserving traditional cultural heritage while evolving into a distinctive tourism product for Son La.