Hanoi Couture

Summit Ends on a Silky Smooth Note

Following APEC tradition, world leaders at the closing ceremony of this year's summit in Hanoi threw off their suits and ties and slipped into traditional Vietnamese garb. While some seemed to enjoy it, others appeared ill at ease.

Not all world leaders looked entirely at ease during the closing ceremonies of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum in Hanoi, Vietnam, on Sunday -- not because they didn't come to substantial agreements during the annual summit, but because of an unusual dress code.

After two days of negotiations, APEC's 21 world leaders slipped into traditional Vietnamese tunics, called "ao dai," for this year's group photo at the conclusion of the summit of Pacific Rim states in Hanoi. While the Associated Press says Chinese President Hu Jintau "was positively beaming" in his blue gown, others such as United States President George W. Bush or Russian President Vladimir Putin, though largely bemused by the whole affair, appeared to have some awkward moments in the unfamiliar and colorful garb.

Pronounced "ao zai," the silk costume is an ankle-length flowing tunic with a snug fit and slits up to the waste, usually worn over long white slacks. The famous Vietnamese designer Dang Thi Minh Hanh had hand-crafted a selection of loosely fitted ao dais for the APEC leaders, who by and large preferred baby blue. The female leaders all wore peony pink, while a few others went for the more daring red, green and yellow tunics.

APEC's tradition of wearing attire symbolic of the host country began at the 1993 summit in Seattle, where then-president Bill Clinton and the other APEC leaders posed for the group photo sporting leather bomber jackets. Since then, the world's most powerful men and women have been seen wearing Indonesian batik shirts, Chilean chamanto ponchos, Korean hanbok dresses and now the ao dai, which in modern-day Vietnam is worn mainly by brides and schoolgirls.

But traditional costume wasn't the only thing on this year's agenda. The US and Russia signed a pact paving the way for Moscow's future entry into the World Trade Organization (WTO). APEC leaders demanded a fresh start for the global free trade talks, which stalled in July because of a feud between the US and the European Union over agricultural subsidies. All 21 members pledged to combat terrorism and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. They also expressed "strong concern" about North Korea's nuclear test, calling for full implementation of UN sanctions against Kim Jong Il's regime.

amb/AP