Ao Dai has long been the national costume of Vietnam, but under the Nguyen Dynasty, Hue deserves the tile of Ao Dai capital of the country because it is home to the most diverse and beautiful types of Ao Dai costumes, from the types of attire, uniforms for kings, royalty, nobles; velvet uniforms for martial mandarins and soldiers; uniforms, mourning and casual clothes for all class of society. That is, Ao Dai was born from Hue, shines in Hue, becomes the symbol of a civilized regime of "Brilliant Mandarin Outfit", symbolizing the cultural unity of a people of the lineage of the Dragon.

Ao Dai has long become a traditional costume, pride and one of the cultural symbols of the Vietnamese nation. Looking back on the history of the formation and development of the Ao Dai, Hue Imperial City is proud to be the cradle of the Ao Dai with the special role of Vo Vuong Nguyen Phuc Khoat, who has made great contributions to the reform of the costume of Dang Trong since 1744 and the birth of the legendary five-part dress. The ancient capital of Hue was also proud of Emperor Minh Mang, the emperor with many great merits, and also the one who popularized, elevated and honored the Ao Dai to become the national uniform of our country. Therefore, Hue is the cradle and also the capital of Ao Dai Vietnam – which still preserves the typical values of Ao Dai tradition and is an inspiration in creating to enhance the value of Ao Dai as a heritage.

With the goal of preserving and developing traditional costumes, Thua Thien Hue Provincial People's Committee has decided to approve the outline of the Project "Hue - Ao Dai Capital". Accordingly, Thua Thien Hue province has launched the main tasks to build Hue into the capital of Ao Dai such as: Research, collect and build a database of Ao Dai Hue; Develop programs, activities, videos, clips and organize advertising and television communication about Ao Dai Hue; Organize the annual Ao Dai Hue Festival, becoming a unique cultural product of Hue; Create and manage the certification mark "Hue - Ao Dai Capital".

The branding of “Hue - Ao Dai Capital of Vietnam” is actually a story of reviving a traditional cultural heritage, bringing that heritage into contemporary life, and letting it shine as it once did. But more than that, the shine of "Ao Dai Capital" is not only a brand of culture, but also for the sustainable development of Thua Thien Hue itself on the basis of preserving and promoting Hue cultural heritage values.