Twenty-one years ago, Parisian luxury fashion house Chanel opened its doors to its very first boutique and office in Bangkok, introducing the Kingdom to the likes of their little black dress, timeless tweed jacket, and, of course, classic flap bag. Twenty-one years on, Thailand has become one of the top 10 markets for this multibillion dollar fashion house, and, with that, it was only natural for the brand to bring a bit of Parisian charm to the City of Angels.
Late last month, high-society fashionistas and others knee-deep in the fashion industry were buzzing with excitement as Chanel took its Cruise 2018/2019 Collection to the banks of the Chao Phraya River.
Initially presented in May in Paris' Grand Palais, the Chanel Cruise 2018/2019 Collection show had an entire ship named La Pausa on its catwalk. Full of nautical swag, the collection, which targets those who want to spend their holidays in style, saw candy-coloured dresses and accessories full of "stripes" borrowed from sailors uniforms. Promising to remake this epic show on Bangkok's riverbank, guests unfortunately didn't see the gargantuan La Pausa, but the decked-out and spacious catwalk made us feel like we were on it. Guests shared tables with Chanel ambassadors Tilda Swinton, Caroline de Maigret, Gaspard Ulliel, with Pharrell Williams, who took the stage and lit up the room in the afterparty. The whole event could be described as epic.
"If we come to Thailand and do a show and there is no impact, why do we do a show?" said Chanel president Bruno Pavlovsky on the morning of the event. "The reason why we are organising here in Bangkok is because we want to create something very specific and with a strong connection to our Thai customers. So not only do we have the show, which is a way to engage them, but we have all these activities that will help communicate this unique position about creation," he added, referring to the workshops and masterclasses which the brand also organised during the week.
"We believe that Bangkok is a growing market. We need to be able to offer the best to our local customers. Renovating boutiques, expanding when necessary -- all this day-to-day work will help us have a strong impact on the Thailand of tomorrow."
Bruno Pavlovsky, who has been working at Chanel for 29 years, has overseen the brand as it's grown rapidly to become the holy grail of prestigious luxury brands in the world.
"At the time [I joined] we had fewer than 50 boutiques in the world, and I think it was more or less the beginning of a huge story with Mr Lagerfeld. When you have such a designer, you can feel that something big will happen."
Almost three decades on, the brand still holds on to its codes and values from the 1920s, while still innovating and attracting both new and old customers.
"I think what is most unique at Chanel is Mademoiselle Chanel," said Pavlovsky. "Gabrielle was amazing in her modernity. The way to connect with her entourage. At that time you don't have the phone, the internet, you don't have a way to connect with all the artists, politicians and all the big people of the world. It was amazing. She was unique for that. She has the capacity to anticipate a lot of things, and she was daring. What I find quite amazing today -- Mr Lagerfeld's position is the same. He knows everything, everywhere, on every topic. He takes the world of today as a huge inspiration, and to be able to come up with this creativity is unique. I think Mademoiselle Chanel has done that in her way with what was existing at that time. Karl is doing that in another way with a new, different channel of communication, but the result is amazing."
Pavlovsky states adamantly that Chanel focuses on creativity over marketing, which results in new innovations for each of the eight collections every year.
"When you go into the details of our collection, when you look at our fabrics, laser and finishing, I believe what we are doing today is much stronger than what we were doing 20 years ago. Mademoiselle Chanel wasn't doing any ready-to-wear; she was only doing haute couture. Now I believe that ready-to-wear is much better than the haute couture of yesterday, and what we're doing in haute couture is much better. It's a lot of innovation, and materials. [We] offer customers the ultimate luxury."
