Flood-soaked silk is off to Milan

THAI SILK CRAFT and hilltribe textiles – saved from oblivion through determined efforts by the royal family and the government – are about to reap further rewards from the preservation and promotion. They’ll be on sale in Milan, haute couture’s world headquarters.
Students at the Bangkok branch of the Italian city’s Accademia Italiana Fashion and Design Institute are creating clothing from Thai silk and tribal cotton for sale at La Rinascente, the department store now owned by Thailand’s Central Group of Companies.
The retail arrangement is in collaboration with the Tiang Chirathivat Foundation, which pursues sustainability in all Thai undertakings, as recommended by His Majesty the King.
That extends to safeguarding professions in the arts and culture, Central Group executive director Sudhitham Chirathivat pointed out as he unveiled the Milan scheme recently at Central World.
“The project is a platform for Thailand to showcase and promote Thai textiles, our heritage in the international arena,” he said.
“The silk of Her Majesty the Queen’s Support Foundation used in this collaboration was damaged in the flooding in 2011, but it was restored and is now usable again. With the creativity of a new generation of designers, the silk can be turned into fashionable outfits.”
The top 10 student creations are to be mass-produced and sold at La Rinascente, a posh retail outlet acquired by Central in 2011.
Accademia Italiana Thailand director Vincenzo Giubba called the programme “quite a challenge” for his young aspiring designers. The school, established in 2007, is the only fashion institute in Southeast Asia accredited by Accademia Italiana in Italy. It’s also recognised by Wales University in Britain.
“Our institute is delighted to be part of this project,” Giubba said. “There will be a contest for our students to use the flood-damaged silk to make fashion items that blend Thai heritage with modern design harmoniously.”
The 20 outfits will be shown on a runway at the end of the school year in May 2014, with half of them chosen for production and sale in Italy.
Meanwhile the Tiang Chirathivat Foundation continues to secure jobs for Thai weavers, with a trial project underway in Chiang Mai’s Om Koi district involving more than 17,000 people in 20 communities.
Again the aim is sustainability, in terms of professions, as well as improving the local economy and thus reducing the social problems that stem from poverty.