Busardi Vamps thrill London

THAI CLOTHING BRAND Busardi made a spectacular splash in its first appearance at London Fashion Week last month with its autumn-winter collection, turning heads alongside the likes of Burberry, Vivienne Westwood, Erdem and Temperley.
Busardi’s show at the One Aldwych Hotel in Covent Garden on the second day of Fashion Week was a prestige magnet and didn’t fail to draw the notice of writers from the world’s top togs magazines, not least for the traditional Thai sweets that were served.
Founder and creative director Busardi Muntarbhorn presented the “Thorns” collection, a tribute to Yoswadee, her family’s 65-year-old label, but reinvented for modern times.
“This season my girls are no longer prim and proper,” she says. “I’ve held onto the romantic essence of the brand, but decided to give this collection a subversive and wicked edge. With the rose comes the thorn!”
Ensuring the brand a place on the London couture map, Busardi rose to the occasion by adding a darker, even sinister mood to the romantic aesthetic of the evening gowns for which she’s best known.
Co-founder Tuck Muntarbhorn – Busardi’s son – explained how it all came about and the sensation it created in an exclusive interview with The Nation.

HOW WAS YOUR FIRST APPEARANCE AT LONDON FASHION WEEK ARRANGED?
It all came about because we wanted to branch out into a wider international market. We wanted to break into the European market, specifically the UK, so we decided to show in London because it’s a city that has a young and vibrant energy and could present our brand in a more relevant and youthful light.
It was certainly a dream come true! I’ve been living in London for over two years and have attended Fashion Week shows before. So it was an amazing, mind-blowing experience to actually have our own show – especially since we were featured in Vogue UK.

WHAT WAS INSPIRATION BEHIND THORNS?
We knew we were going to show this collection in London, so I advised my mother to make the garments more relevant to London women – perhaps edgier, younger, more fun and more sexy. We really upped the “sexy” this season, just to celebrate the joy of clothing and thinking outside the box.
I told my mum not to be afraid to step outside the brand’s conventions, despite it being favoured by ladies of the upper echelons and some members of the nobility. This season for us is all about letting loose and injecting freedom into the brand.
We called the collection Thorns because we wanted to adapt to the London market. We decided to given our girls a subversive edge. We pumped in this energy, starting with the rose motif printed on Mikado silk and, of course, with our signature floral applique and intricate hand-embroidery on embossed lace.
The rose motif evolved into thorns to give the Busardi girls a wicked, vampy edge and a newfound audacity, with provocative slits, shorter cuts and sheer panelling. It gives the girls a certain sensuality that wasn’t present so much in previous seasons. We want the Busardi woman this season to be a party girl, yet still with that touch of sophistication.
Apart from these “red-carpet looks”, we also wanted to make sure our girls are relevant off the red carpet. So we introduced new aspects, such as sharp tailoring, more separate pieces and accessories that can be mixed with daywear. It’s made the brand more fun and perfects the art of dressing up, especially somewhere like London, where it’s very fast-paced and fashion changes all the time.
Some of the fashion editors said that, despite our garments being very high fashion, they felt they wanted to try them on and wear them, as opposed to seeing something that’s beautiful but out of reach.

WHAT OTHER FEEDBACK DID AN AUDACIOUS THAI LABEL GET IN HAUTE COUTURE LONDON?
People who’d never heard of our brand before found the collection very exciting. We were ecstatic about it! We followed up with everyone who’d attended and all of them loved the collection. They really enjoyed the embellishments and the attention to detail and they appreciated Busardi’s signature hand embroidery and applique on embossed lace. They were very interested in how the garments were made and curious about the fabrics, like the Thai silk, which were quite new to them.
Overall, people were very impressed. They were sharing updates about us via the social media, which was great coverage for us. They were saying how the collection touched them and that it was incredibly beautiful. Usually when you go to runway shows, the pace is so fast that you only get quick glimpses of the clothes. You rarely get to see them up close or feel them – unless you get to go backstage. But at our show people were able to do that and admire the craftsmanship. They actually had time to appreciate the designs.
Also, since my mother and I were there, they could ask us questions about the collection too.

TELL US ABOUT THE HISTORY OF THE BRAND AND WHAT YOU THINK MAKES IT UNIQUE.
Busardi was founded in 2009 as a ready-to-wear label aiming toward the international market. My mother had designed for Yoswadee, her mother’s label and one of Thailand’s oldest fashion houses.
We’re still working in the same atelier and some of our seamstresses have been with the family for decades, keeping the craft alive. That’s what we transferred to the Busardi label, while making the clothes more contemporary and younger, at the same time retaining the same attention to detail and high craftsmanship.
This collection is updated with higher slits, shorter hems, sheer panels and subtle cleavage. We want the Busardi woman to feel sexy and free. And, given the changeability of the climate in London, we focused on layering and separates. It assures that the Busardi woman will always be relevant!

WHAT’S NEXT FOR THE BRAND?
Our goals are to gain as much exposure in the magazines and get into celebrity styling, here in London as well as in Thailand.
We’ve also been in touch with buyers from prominent department stores, such as Bergdorf Goodman in America and Selfridges in the UK, and websites like MyTheresa.com, with the aim of increasing sales in Thailand and abroad.
Hopefully in a couple more seasons we’ll be able to show at Paris Fashion Week. Our dream for London has already come true – to be shown in Paris would be indescribable. It’s moments like these that reassure us what we’re doing is worthwhile. To be rewarded and recognised for channelling and pouring all our love into something is the best compliment we could ever receive.