As the force behind Sretsis grows from a free-spirited designer into a mature woman, one thing has changed about the way she dresses: her shoes are no longer all-baring.
"It's like an attitude where, OK, I'm older now and wearing minidresses, but maybe not with heels anymore, but with closed-toe shoes so you aren't baring everything," Pimdao Sukhahuta says of the more reserved mix-and-matching she has evolved to sport. "If you wear short skirts, it's with a blazer on top."
For a fashion brand that's now 15 years old, with the founder, designer and creative director now 38 and also a married woman, there is no doubt that a changing life phase will affect her designs and how she styles her clothes. Giggling, she confesses that heartbreaks are (thankfully) not the source of inspiration for her clothes anymore, compared to her yesteryears. In fact, Pimdao's autumn/winter 2018 collection in stores now, Magic Hour, is inspired by a more grown-up train of thought: of finding fantasy in our everyday lives, instead of trying to escape into it.
"The fantasy isn't gone just because you're grown up," says the founder. "As children we may think about escaping reality into fantasy, but now it's really about how to make every day special. I feel that women look their best when they are just themselves, express themselves and get to choose the right dress for the right occasion. And it doesn't have to be the latest season or what people say looks good on you. We're not dictator designers -- we want to design clothes for women to be beautiful in their own way."
Pimdao Sukhahuta, creative director and founder of Sretsis.
The clothes -- a collection of office and party-ready pieces -- are literally translated from the dictionary's definition of "magic hour".
"It's that moment before the Sun goes up or down and it's just a 5-minute gap," explains Pimdao. "All photographers try to capture this magnificent lighting, which happens every day, and we want people to see too that there can be something special in your every day."
Dreamy colours such as sunset-pink and midnight-blue, which take from the magic hour, come on silk lurex dresses which are also printed with large-scale digital patterns. Another detail the founder is eager to highlight is their usage of metallic rose brocade -- a fabric usually reserved for haute couture, but which here gets styled alongside more humble items such as flowery activewear.
"It's a special fabric, but I wanted to bring it to everyday life," the director says. "It looks great with Thai patung too, where the top worn could be a peplum brocade jacket. If you were to go to a Thai wedding but don't want to be in Thai attire all over, it looks contemporary but is still appropriate for the occasion."
This mixture, which sounds like a contrast, has always been the heart of Sretsis, even though it is a brand better known for its minidresses and saccharine prints.
"There are other images of the brand we want people to see, too, such as boss-lady looks, with suits. There's always been a contrast going on between feminine and masculine," Pimdao says.
The autumn/winter 2018 collection.
Houndstooth blazers are accented with red and star-shaped buttons here and there -- so "it's still something you can wear to corporate work and not be shy about", the director says enthusiastically, giving us concise images of how she pulls the whole 30s-are-the-new-20s ideal.
"It doesn't look cutesy. It's really just about knowing what's appropriate and suited to your personality and character. Maybe you don't wear shorts with heels anymore. I feel like platforms are better, so there's a balance of being both classic and ladylike, where you can be revealing but not baring it all."
On the note of the covered-toe shoes, it's a milestone of sorts that Sretsis is now offering a full line-up of shoes, made in collaboration with a 66-year-old French house called Carel. Shoes were never sold before, save for the espadrilles last season, which had to be custom-made from Spain, where the rope-based shoe mainly originated.
"I personally loved seeing Mary Jane shoes making a comeback on fashion runways," Pimdao recalls. "I researched more and found out that most designs were drawn from Carel's Kina model -- which is a classic design that they haven't changed in over 50 years. The original is all from this French brand, and I was lucky to work with them because my husband is French and could contact them. Before, they've done shoes for big brand's shows like Karl Lagerfeld and Jean Paul Gaultier. They've always emphasised quality shoes -- where every pair is French but made in Italy, because the best of shoes are in Italy."
Made to go seamlessly with the collection, the Kina model gets a Sretsis touch of pastel colours and glittery heels. There is also diamanté lettering that spells "Baby Love" and "Magic Shoes", which highlights the three straps and can be removed to be rearranged. Then there is also a boot splashed with this season's Labyrinth Keeper print, as well as slippers made from the same rose brocade fabric. Price-wise, it should set you back around 20,000 baht per pair, which is considerably cheaper than Saint Laurent's boots, which are in the 30,000 baht range. Considering the tax, quality and how Thailand has no expertise in, factories for, or history of making leather shoes, it's a buy that will surely last, thanks to the given craftsmanship that goes into each pair.
Pimdao wouldn't have had it any other way, and, for both the woman and the brand, it is also a reflection of the natural arrival of an acquired taste for the finer things in life.
"I was just so impressed by the design and story," she says of the Kina shoe. "I feel that things that stand against time prove their product must be really good. When we sell something, we want to sell both design and quality. This is something I really understand more the older I get. There are fewer pieces I have now, but each is something I like to wear, love and really feel that it's me."
Find the Autumn/Winter 2018 Magic Hour collection at Sretsis, Central Embassy.
