Hundreds of foreign designers, the fashion industry elite, buyers, reporters and other fashionistas shouted "Bravo!" repeatedly as their cameras and phones captured the finale of the last show at the "New Shades Of Thailand Los Angeles Fashion Week 2017" in Los Angeles. All four shows by four famous Thai brands -- Patinya, Milin, ASV and Issue -- wowed the audience and brought more fame to Thai fabrics and fashion.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Thailand, the Royal Thai Consulate-General, Los Angeles, the Tourism Authority of Thailand Los Angeles Office, and Team Thailand Los Angeles jointly promoted Thailand's fashion industry at the international level by inviting these top Thai designers and clothing brands to showcase their works at the event. LAFW is the most famous apparel and design event on the West Coast of the United States and is now a permanent feature on the international fashion week calender, along with London, Paris, Milan, New York and Tokyo.
"We would like to see the promotion and improvement of Thai fabrics. Thai fabrics are beautiful and should be conserved and promoted in line with Her Majesty Queen Sirikit's initiatives and her Support Foundation that has helped villagers nationwide. We believe Thailand has many good designers," Tanee Sangrat, the Thai consul-general, LA, remarked.
The main objectives of this event were to expose Thai fabrics to leading international fashion figures, promote emerging Thai designers and clothing brands at the international level, enhance and commercialise the popularity of Thai fabrics and culture in line with the Thailand 4.0 policy and strengthen Thailand branding in the international fashion industries.
The participating Thai brands revealed the spring/summer 2018 collection (SS18 Collection) at the LAFW 2017 for the first time. They combined a variety of Thai fabrics in their designs as a motivation to include different aspects of Thai culture into the daily life of the new generation.
"This year, we presented four Thai fashion brands at LA Fashion Week because we wanted to showcase Thai designers and Thai fabrics. The LAFW side was very interesting. We talked to them and they looked for Thai designers who met international standards. Finally, we got these four brands that are internationally and regionally renowned," Tanee said.
According to him, the selected designers' clothes must be wearable, practical and sellable, attracting orders. They also must have ready production lines.
"We want this move to inspire Thai textile manufacturers and local weavers to produce and sell their products, leading to sustainable development of the Thai textile industry," he added.
Last year, the Royal Thai Consulate-General, Los Angeles, invited a Thai designer to open a show with a focus on history and production techniques of Thai fabrics, including indigo-dyed textiles and Thai silk. Next year, it will continue to promote Thai fabrics at LA Fashion Week.
At the "New Shades Of Thailand Los Angeles Fashion Week 2017" on the evening of Oct 5, the Thai brands -- Patinya, Milin, ASV and Issue -- took to the runway at the Alexandria Ballrooms.
Patinya Kyokong of Patinya brand said, under the feminine and "East Meets West" concept, the collection was created from Thai silk purchased from the Sirikit Institute when the brand took part in a fashion show to celebrate the 84th birthday of HM Queen Sirikit.
"Patinya has come with gimmicks for the total look and trimming with lace and striped fabrics. One of our dressmakers worked with Atelier Pichita, which made some dresses for Her Majesty Queen Sirikit," she said. "We also did more research about fashion among Thai royal descendants who married foreigners in the past. We love lace, so we came up with 25,000 handmade lace flowers. Asymmetry is another charm of Patinya Prive which is a custom-made semi-couture brand."
Patinya mirrors "Urban Elegant & Sensibility", the sense of urban girl lifestyles, clothes that can be worn both casually and professionally. It is well-known for tailor-made sewing, the pattern of tactics in sewing, and the tailoring combines the charm of high-class clothing in the past to the modern look.
Milin Yuvacharuskul, creative director of Milin, said their collection was inspired by fun things and presents what is wearable at work, as well as appealing to those wanting to "dress to impress". The outfits reflect the charming, sexy and delicate sides of office girls, mixed with the tailor-made style of menswear. Milin is famous for the design of tectonic plates in the Thai fashion industry, ushering in an era of elegant, sensual and rebellious women.
"When approached, we were interested in joining the fashion week. Actually, our brand is quite far from Thai fabrics. So, we tried to find and adjust Thai textiles to our 'rebellious' brand. To promote Thai fabrics, we chose to use Jim Thompson's bright-coloured Thai silk with crocodile prints into uncommon pieces like blazers and mix that with chiffon clothes to create a young look. We had limited time though," she recalled.
Bhubawit Kritpholnara, creative director of Issue, which has been in the fashion industry for 18 years and shown in numerous world-class fashion shows, said he was honoured and excited to begin his 19th year in the fashion world at LA Fashion Week by presenting Thai fabrics from the perspectives of Asian culture, art, food and journeys.
Outfits by Issue combine Buddhist elements with fashion to reveal the wearer's personality and charisma. The brand embraces the concepts of "compassion" and "never giving up".
"This time, we tried to present the connection between East and West through very thin lines that are almost invisible. This collection is, therefore, titled 'Invisible', which is also a technique and gimmick. Invisible is what we cannot see with bare eyes and what we overlook. Highlights are printed motifs and colours," he noted.
According to him, the applied motifs are related to summer and tropical things, such as flowers and garlands, with a hint of the cowboy, like the motifs of ropes, hoops and horseshoes.
"This collection is partially made of Thai silk. Thai fabrics are unique. The Thai textile industry has continually developed. We must support the use of Thai fabrics and not think negatively about obstacles. Thai fabrics can be worn every day and are easy to care for," Bhubawit concluded.
Polpat Asavaprapha, creative director of Asava and ASV, recalled that Asava has used Jim Thompson's Thai fabrics since its first collection and applied Thai fabrics in every collection, but he chose ASV for LA Fashion Week because its young look fits LA lifestyles better. This collection is titled LAX coincidentally and presents the look of New York girls wearing American sportswear to visit LA, especially Sunset Boulevard and Malibu beach. It is made of Thai silk from Jim Thompson and local weavers.
ASV is a playful younger sister of the Asava brand. It possesses a more daring edge, but retains subtle classiness.
According to Polpat, he regards LA as a potential market due to the similar lifestyles and weather of LA and Thailand as well as the acceptance of new fashion designers among LA residents, especially those of Asian descent.
"Foreigners already know about the charm of Thai textiles, so designers need to represent Thailand demonstrating our luxury creations and international standards of fashion. The uniqueness of Thai fabrics can be added to our work to make people know Thailand is a country with creativity," Polpat, who is also the head of the Bangkok Fashion Society, noted.
Polpat has designed souvenirs and developed new motifs for silk for the Support Foundation for three years. He seeks to apply Thai silk to different aspects of world fashion by showing it can be used in daily life and looks modern.
"Thais have been fully inspired by Her Majesty Queen Sirikit's passion for Thai textiles. This aspiration is in our hearts. Certain Thai fashion brands have been directly working with the foundation while some others use Thai fabrics to promote domestic demand and supply of Thai textiles," Tanee said.
