Asian Geographic - 08.2018

Downtown of the Vietnamese capital. It’s early

morning, but there’s already a commotion:

vendors being chased off the pavement

by police cleanups looking to achieve

the uncluttered streets characteristic of a

developed country. It’s also a common sight

across Jakarta and Bangkok, but here in Hanoi,

alongside hawkers and flower sellers, another

type of entrepreneurial citizen goes running:

the street barber.

Today’s barbers might be ex-soldiers or

unemployed Vietnamese scraping a living

together, but they share the same humble

beginnings with some of the country’s finest

hairstylists, whose families have lived for

years in the Dong Da district’s Kim Lien

“barber village”. Between the 1970s and 1980s,

almost three-quarters of the village comprised

barbers, and the skills of this particular

profession have been passed down from

generation to generation among its residents.

Initially forced by the economic recession

to venture downtown into city boulevards,

this legion of self-taught barbers – armed with

the tools for a quick, no-frills chop – quickly

transformed entire streets into portable salons,

and established themselves as a mainstay in

Hanoi’s street peddling scene. Eventually,

many rose up the ranks to become renowned

hairstylists. This heritage is celebrated in

an annual festival in April, with village

hairdressers offering stylish free haircuts.

Outside of these celebrations, the tradition

of street barbers continues strong today, with

ad-hoc trims happening in parks and out of

suitcases for the princely sum of between

Cosmopolitan Ho Chi Minh has banished them

all. Now historic Hanoi’s well-loved al fresco

barbers are but a hair ahead of the law

A Snip Outdoors

HAIR TODAY, GONE TOMORROW

a hairy situation

ȑLong hair is a cultural
norm for men. It’s tied in
a knot at the nape of the
neck and covered with a
scarf for outings

ȑBarbers ply streets.

Shorter hair for men

starts trending in South

Vietnam, inspired by

French colonial cuts

ȑVietnamese returning

from university overseas

during the French

Indochina period further

popularise short cuts

ȑStreet barbers reach

peak popularity. At the

end of the century, the

government abolishes

street peddling

ȑBarbers who can

afford it open their own

barbershops. Others

continue operating

illegally off pavements

17th century 20th century 21st century

Text and Photos Claudio Sieber

18th century 19th century

culture