It’s not a K-pop music video, although the atmosphere might be deceiving. If you happen to be at An Phú or Ben Thanh stations in Ho Chi Minh City and find yourself surrounded by kids with tripods, smartphones, and urban catwalk looks, you are witnessing the birth of a new aesthetic made in Vietnam live. It is here, in the shiny and minimalist corridors of the newborn subway, that one of the most unusual trends of the current youth scene comes to life: the combination of public transport and the Vietnamese urban lifestyle trend. TikTokers, emerging models, and photography enthusiasts meet underground, transforming metro stations into perfect urban sets. The result is an Instagram feed that evokes Seoul, Tokyo, or Bangkok, but with an unmistakable touch: that of the Vietnamese Gen Z who mixes streetwear and identity pride with disarming ease.
Urban vibes with accents of identity
It’s not just a question of aesthetics: there’s an entire vision of the world behind these shots. The fascination with urban style is not a passing trend, but the reflection of a generation in search of a balance between authenticity and globalization. Chunky sneakers, oversized glasses, and crop tops coexist with Fur-lined boots. Not infrequently, you come across young people wearing the traditional ao dai posing at the entrance of stations, in front of the ticket office, on the subway stairs, in a gesture that seems almost poetic: tradition meets the future, underground, in the living heart of the city.
One infrastructure, a thousand narratives
The Ho Chi Minh City Metroinauguratedd between the end of 2024 and the beginning of 2025, is much more than an urban project. It has become the concrete symbol of a profound urban transformation: functional mobility, the desire to connect,accand ess to modernity. But above all, it has become the ideal set to tell the story of a new generation: urban fat visual. Its clean and futuristic spaces lend themselves to being photographed and shared, but they are also the mirror of a collective desire for change.
A new Vietnamese creative scene
At the same time, the boom of local fashion brands, increasingly appreciated abroad, strengthens the sense of belonging and innovation. Vietnam is no longer just the textile factory of the world, but a true creative laboratory where design, sustainability y nd storytelling intersect. On social media, this new pride translates into images curated in detail, meticulously constructed aesthetics, but also in choices full of symbolism: posing in front of a passing train is not only beautiful — it is a pure statement. It is saying “we are here too”, but doing it with style.
Public spaces as a mirror of the urban soul
Once upon a time, pastel cafés or Saigon murals dictated the feed law. Today, the focus shifts to symbolic public spaces. The subway is not just a neutral backdrop, but a place that tells something more: dynamism, belonging transition. Young Vietnamese seem to want to take over the urban space, reinterpreting it and making it an active part of their narrative. A lifestyle in transformation that is written, shot, posted — rigorously connected and shared.
Not just a shot at a jat ourney
The Ho Chi Minh City subway is, today, a bit like the starting point of a bigger journey: that of self-expression, of cultural transformation, of the reconquest of the imagination. And young people understood this before anyone else. For them, every station is a threshold: between past and present, between tradition and modernity, between invisibility and visibility. Because yes, every journey begins from a station. But in Vietnam, now, it can also begin with a selfie.
