huế's đồng khánh girl's high school, which opened in 1917, was widely praised for the ao dai uniform worn by its students. the first modernized ao dai appeared at a paris fashion show in 1921. in 1930, hanoi artist cát tường, also known as le mur, designed a dress inspired by the "áo ngũ thân" and by paris fashions. it reached to the floor and fit the curves of the body by using darts and a nipped-in waist. when fabric became inexpensive, the rationale for multiple layers and thick flaps disappeared. modern textile manufacture allows for wider panels, eliminating the need to sew narrow panels together. the "áo dài le mur", or "trendy" ao dai, created a sensation when model nguyễn thị hậu wore it for a feature published by the newspaper "today" in january 1935. the style was promoted by the artists of tự lực văn đoàn ("self-reliant literary group") as a national costume for the modern era. the painter lê phô introduced several popular styles of ao dai beginning in 1934. such westernized garments temporarily disappeared during world war ii (1939–45).