Calling all (Thai) Britons

Siam Paragon and the British Council are hosting a “Celebration of British Icons” at the mall through Sunday, marking four centuries of Thai-UK friendship and cheering the imminent arrival of the new heir to the British crown, with the Duchess of Cambridge due any day. 

The exhibition features portraits of British and Thai monarchs and famous names from British fashion, fine art and motoring. 

Among the more than 100 pictures of royalty are memories of Their Majesties the King and Queen visiting Great Britain and Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh touring Thailand. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge figure prominently as well.

Exquisite hats that Irishman Philip Treacy designed for the British royal family and pop celebrities are on view, and six will be auctioned to raise money for the Bangsai Arts and Crafts Centre founded by Queen Sirikit, with bidding starting anywhere from Bt45,000 to Bt135,000. 

Alongside the headgear are beautiful hat designs by Thailand’s Khunteera “Mind” Pachimsawat, who recently opened Mind Millinery, the country’s first hat studio. 

From the UK’s celebrated universities, several Thai alumni who have achieved global fame are honoured. These include Somtow Sucharitkul, the orchestra conductor and composer, who first visited England when he was just six months old. All of his music and his perspective bear English influence, Somtow said at the exhibition’s opening. 

Engineer and scientist Art-Ong Jumsai Na Ayudhya, who developed the landing gear for Nasa’s Martian probes, recalls his teacher in Britain spotting his talent for mathematics early on and “giving me full support”. Thailand’s Education Act, he noted, has long aspired to mimic British schools’ efforts to be “child centre”, but “this has not been effective in practice”. 

Another UK alumnus, ballerina Vararom “Kru Tib” Pachimsawat, promised young Thais interested in ballet that the British schools focus concentration and teach patience better than anywhere else. Fashion designer Disaya “Aom” Sorakraikitikul of the Disaya and Boudoir by Disaya brands, learned the ropes in England, as did photographer Chaiyasith Junjuerdee, who took pictures at Prince William and Catherine’s wedding.

Large-scale figurative paintings by Andrew Stahl, inspired by Thailand, are on display, and he did two of them, “Songkran” and “Fountain in Ekkamai”, just for the exhibition. On hand for the show’s opening, Stahl said he strives to catch cultural differences as well as similarities. “It’s always a magic, happy feeling I want to express in my paintings of Thailand, and, to my surprise, I enjoy it – like a bucket of water poured over me during Songkran.”

Burberry’s trench coat gets a display of its own, and you can see a Rolls-Royce Phantom Extended Wheelbase worth Bt42.5 million. Alongside is Millennium Auto’s collection of Minis, decorated for the occasion with Union Jacks, including a new Mini Paceman, Mini Cooper and Mini Coupe.

British Ambassador Mark Kent formally opened the exhibition with the help of Siam Paragon and British Council executives. The evening also featured a fashion show of Philip Treacy hats modelled by Urassaya “Yaya” Sperbund, Kimberly Ann Thomas and Arak “Pae” Amornsupasiri. 

 THE BRITISH

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 n “Celebration of British Icons” runs until Sunday in Siam Paragon’s M floor Hall of Fame.