Tasha Gem
Collection
Bio
Tasha Gem is a half-Vietnamese American designer whose work begins with research, tracing her family history and material culture. Her senior thesis collection, Dear Sài Gòne, is rooted in her family's experience as Vietnamese refugees, translating that personal archive into silhouette and construction.
In April of 1975, as Saigon fell and the Vietnam War reached its end, my grandfather made an impossible decision. With little more than instinct and courage, he led his wife and three young children, including my mom, onto a boat in the middle of the night, fleeing a home that no longer felt like one. They became what the world would come to call “boat people,” refugees who risked everything for the chance to live.
That journey, filled with fear, uncertainty, and unimaginable strength, didn’t end when they arrived in the United States. My family arrived here with no money, no English, and no clear future.
They were placed in Camp Pendleton, a refugee camp in Oceanside, California where a makeshift “tent city” was built by Marines to temporarily house 50,000 displaced Vietnamese.
This collection is a tribute to their story. It's about honoring the resilience and the love that carried them through a time of immense loss. It’s about the silence that followed, too. The unspoken trauma that trickled down through generations, shaping who we are in ways we’re only beginning to understand.
I’ve always felt the presence of this story, even before I had the words to name it. It’s in the quiet strength of my grandfather, who rarely spoke of Vietnam but carried it in the stillness of his presence.
My research draws from family photographs taken between 1975–1980, interviews with my relatives, and historical documentation of the postwar Vietnamese diaspora. When I look through old family photos from the years after they arrived in America, I see more than just what they wore. I see the way clothing reflected both the era and the transition they were living through.
My approach pulls elements of 1970s American domestic children’s wear. My grandmother used to sew many of her children’s clothes by hand, an act of care during a time when survival often meant making do with very little.
Quilted Jacket Dress, Hand-knit set with Chiffon slip, and Denim Pocket set
Asymmetrical Gingham Blouse with Frog Closure and Denim Drawstring shorts, Puff Sleeve Asymmetrical Coat with Double Collar
Boat Neck Blanket Coat with Giant Frog Closure (Blanket sourced second hand from the 70s), Military Pocket Bag with Bamboo Handles
Kisslock Frame Clutch made with Gathered Chiffon
Tasha Gem, Lan Pham, and Tam Anh Pham
This is not just a collection. It’s a living archive. A love letter. A visual translation of everything they survived, and everything I’ve inherited.
Collaborators
Director: Ethan Chu
Producer: Ava Encinas
Cinematographer: Bryan Tran
Editor: Toheed Chaudhry
Photographer: Ximena Escobar
Score: Grant Hanson
Models: Bea Catacutan, Bridget Lingga, Christina Costanzo, Lan Pham Zentil, Nena Oshita, Tam Anh Pham