Food, Fashion, and Culture: Inside the Creative Code of Yến-Nhi Lê, from Saigon to Paris
Our paths crossed on a sunny afternoon in Le Marais during Paris Fashion Week SS25, when we both found ourselves at Café de la Poste. Yến-Nhi Lê carries a calm magnetism that stands out amid the noise, composed, curious, and deeply attuned to the world around her. A storyteller, tastemaker, and founder of Saigon Kiss, she continues to shape a cross-cultural narrative that feels intimate, intellectual, and distinctly modern. In our conversation, she opened up about her creative universe and how her work continues to blur the boundaries between fashion, food, and culture. Scroll to read more.
BALCONE: We’ve followed each other on socials for a while, but we first met during Paris Fashion Week SS25 at a café in Le Marais! For readers who may not know you yet, how would you introduce yourself and your background?
YẾN-NHI: I’m the co-founder and creative director of Saigon Kiss — a collective and creative studio that moves between brand strategy, storytelling, and experiential design, often through the lens of food and culture. The collective focuses on building community and cultural exchange, while the creative studio serves as our brand-facing arm, working with partners to translate ideas into meaningful experiences. I grew up in Amsterdam with Vietnamese roots, and I think that duality shapes everything I do, how I see beauty, how I tell stories, how I build worlds.
B: You grew up in Amsterdam with Vietnamese roots. How has that cultural mix shaped your sense of self and your approach to creativity?
Y: It’s a constant dialogue between discipline and feeling. The Dutch part of me values structure, clarity, and honesty. The Vietnamese side is intuitive, emotional, and deeply tied to memory. My creative process often starts with something emotional — a scent, a texture, a photograph — and then I build a structure around it to make it tangible.
B: As someone bilingual and multi-cultural, what feels like “home” to you today?
Y: Home, to me, has become less of a place and more of a feeling, an energy of softness and belonging. It’s where I can exhale and be fully myself. Sometimes that’s Saigon, sometimes it’s Paris or Amsterdam, and other times it’s simply the intimacy of a shared table, surrounded by the right people.
Yến-Nhi Lê For ELLE VIETNAM
B: What were your childhood or teenage years like? Were fashion, books, or food already part of your world then, or did that come later?
Y: Food was always the language of care in my family, especially Vietnamese food. It carried warmth, memory, and a sense of home that words couldn’t always express. Fashion came later, during my teenage years, as a quiet form of self-expression, a way to translate emotion into form. And books were a constant thread throughout; they offered portals into other worlds, shaping the way I imagined, felt, and eventually created.
B: You’ve been featured in Vogue France and named a ‘Tastemaker’ by ELLE Magazine. How do you view your own style in that context? Is it something carefully intentional, or does it come naturally? And looking back, how did your relationship with fashion first begin?
Y: It’s intuitive, I don’t overthink it. I dress through feeling: mood, textures, but mainly silhouette. My relationship with fashion began early on. Growing up with strict parents, clothing became a quiet act of defiance, a language of self-expression when words felt limited. Later, studying fashion at the Fashion Institute gave me a deeper understanding of the system behind the sentiment, how emotion and structure coexist within the industry.
B: We often see you in Comme des Garçons, Issey Miyake, and Margiela. What draws you to these designers, and why do they feel so central to your personal style?
Y: Each of them embodies a different form of freedom that deeply resonates with me. Comme des Garçons channels a kind of poetic rebellion, bold, questioning, and unapologetically unconventional. Issey Miyake captures movement and playfulness, reminding me that clothing should breathe and live with the body. And Margiela, for me, is about philosophy, the beauty of deconstruction, of questioning what fashion can be. Together, they shape the emotional and intellectual foundation of my style.
B: You’ve appeared in i-D, Numéro, and VMAN SEA. How did those features come about, and how did it feel to see Vietnamese creativity represented in that way?
Y: Each feature happened quite organically through mutual connections, shared curiosity, or people who understood what I was trying to do. Seeing Vietnamese creativity in those contexts means a lot; it’s not about representation for the sake of it, but about showing depth, complexity, and modernity.
Yến-Nhi Lê IS IN SAIGON
SAIGON KISS DNNER AT BERLIN PHOTO BY TRACY DONG
Yến-Nhi Lê for the emerging Vietnamese brand Mai Lam
B: At Paris Fashion Week, beyond the glamour, what do you personally look for — the details, the designers, the energy — that make the week worth it for you?
Y: It’s the energy between shows, the conversations, the small encounters, the after-show dinners. I look for sincerity, whether that’s in the clothes or the people. When someone’s work feels honest, it stands out immediately.
B: Tell us about Saigon Kiss. When did the idea start, and what do you want it to stand for?
Y: Saigon Kiss actually began with a story, or rather, an accident. Years ago, I had a scooter accident in Saigon, and a friend jokingly told me the wound was called a Saigon kiss. The phrase stayed with me; it felt raw, intimate, and strangely poetic, a mix of beauty and pain, memory and motion. Everyone in Saigon has one, and when I later looked it up, I found two definitions: one, a physical wound often caused by a motorbike; and two, a burn in the process of healing. That second meaning resonated deeply; it reflected the experience of our generation, the children of refugees, still healing from inherited histories. From that idea, Saigon Kiss grew into two branches that reflect the same philosophy in different ways. Saigon Kiss Studio explores the idea that luxury should feel intimate, rooted in emotion, craftsmanship, and sincerity. Saigon Kiss Collective, on the other hand, focuses on community-based projects that bring people together through food, culture, and storytelling. Both are connected by the same belief: that beauty can come from what’s lived, shared, and felt.
B: Food, fashion, community — Saigon Kiss brings these together. Why is food the first medium, and what does gathering around a table allow that fashion alone cannot?
Y: Food disarms people. It creates a connection instantly. You can talk about anything over a meal: identity, memory, love. It’s a medium that holds both intimacy and universality, something fashion doesn’t always allow. From the outside, fashion looks glamorous and effortless. In reality, it’s full of twists and challenges.
Yến-Nhi Lê WEARING EMERGING VIETNAMESE BRAND FANCI CLUB
Yến-Nhi Lê DURING PARIS FASHION WEEK AT VIETNAMESE EMERGING BRAND LUUDAN'S AFTER PARTY SHOT BY SU SHAN LEONG
Yến-Nhi Lê WEARINNG COMME DES GARÇONS and foundrymews shoes
B: What has been the biggest lesson you’ve learned so far in your journey?
Y: To not lose softness in the process. The industry can harden you, but staying open and intuitive is what keeps the work alive.
B: You’re also the creative director of Mãi Mãi Magazine. Can you tell us more about its vision and what role you play in shaping it?
Y: Mãi Mãi is a print publication celebrating global Vietnamese creativity across generations, across continents. It’s rooted in memory, but forward-looking. As creative director, I shape the storytelling and emotional tone, ensuring it feels intimate yet expansive.
B: Balcone is rooted in Southeast Asia, and you’re often moving between Europe and the region. From your perspective, what makes the fashion and creative energy in Southeast Asia unique right now?
Y: It’s fearless and unfiltered. There’s a rawness and tenderness in the way people create: less about trends, more about identity and experimentation. The energy feels young but grounded in deep cultural awareness.
B: The idea of “luxury” in fashion is always evolving. How would you personally define luxury in today’s fashion world?
Y: Luxury is emotional clarity. It’s when something, an experience, a garment, a conversation, feels sincere and considered. It’s less about excess and more about depth.
B: You collaborate with many different brands. What makes a collaboration feel right for you, and when do you say no?
Y: It has to feel aligned emotionally. I say yes when there’s trust, and when the brand allows space for storytelling, not just aesthetics. I say no when it feels purely transactional.
B: Paris, Amsterdam, Saigon; three very different rhythms. What does each city give you, and how do you balance between them?
Y: Amsterdam gives me focus. Saigon gives me life. Paris gives me perspective. I move between them depending on what I need creatively.
B: What’s next for Saigon Kiss: more dinners, publishing, collaborations?
Y: All of the above, but more intentionally. I want to expand the residency model and continue creating cross-cultural collaborations that feel human and long-lasting.
B: What’s your current obsession?
Y: Porcelain and ceramic objects.
B: What’s your star sign? And do you believe in horoscopes?
Y: Leo!— I believe in energy more than horoscopes, but the descriptions always make sense.
B: Dream dinner guest (anyone, alive or not)?
Y: Marina Abramovic, King Krule & Kate Bush
B: Your favorite restaurant/bar/spot in Paris, Amsterdam, and Saigon?
Y: There are so many! But for Paris: Cheval d’Or, TRÂM130, Le Grand Bol. Amsterdam: New King (get the sui kau soup, it’s lush). Saigon: Cuc Gach Quan, it always feels like home.
B: Your style in five words?
Y: Intuitive. Emotional. Minimal. Textural. Grounded.
SAIGON KISS DINNER AT BERLIN PHOTO BY TRACY DONG
SAIGON KISS DINNER AT BERLIN PHOTO BY TRACY DONG, Yến-Nhi Lê IN THE FRONT
SAIGON KISS DINNER AT BERLIN PHOTO BY TRACY DONG
B: What’s playing on repeat for you at the moment?
Y: HYUKOH & 落日飛車 (Sunset Rollercoaster) - Aaaannnnteeeeennnaaaaaa
B: Which emerging designers or creatives are on your radar right now?
Y: Subtle Le Nguyen (@subtlenguyen), one of my favourite Vietnamese brands, Elinor Kry (@elinorky), a Vietnamese-Cambodian photographer — extremely talented! Dan Q. Dao, the newly appointed editor-in-chief of Esquire Vietnam. Lam Nguy (@lamnguy6)
B: At Balcone, we focus on emerging designers and alternative voices in fashion. How essential is this space, and do you see platforms like ours playing an increasingly important role in shifting the industry forward?
Y: Completely essential. The industry needs more platforms that celebrate depth and nuance, not just visibility. Balcone creates that space for voices that don’t fit neatly into the system.
B: What are your top five favorite items from Balcone right now?
Y: The band ring from Jupiter, Mindy choker & Gloria earrings from Justine Clenquet, the bodysuit from Margiela, Gabardine Bermuda Long shorts from AMI Paris.
B: Fashion can be both inspiring and exhausting. What’s one challenge you see right now for the industry?
Y: The biggest challenge is the pressure to constantly produce. There’s little time for reflection, and without reflection, creativity becomes surface-level.
B: Any final thoughts or advice you’d like to share with young creatives starting out in fashion and culture?
Y: Trust your timing. Don’t rush to fit into something that doesn’t feel true. Depth always lasts longer than hype.
B: Finally, what’s next for you? Any upcoming projects, collaborations, or events you’re most excited about?
Y: We’re preparing the next Saigon Kiss pop-up and the next Mãi Mãi magazine launch. There are also new brand collaborations on the horizon, but always with the same goal: to tell stories that feel alive and sincere.
Yến-Nhi'S PICKS
