Making the cut

Elle Fashion Week has long had a tradition of introducing new designers and many of today’s successful brands, among them Issue, Disaya, Sretsis, Munchu’s, made their debut on this prestigious runway.
Seven newcomers were at the fashion week’s autumn and winter showings earlier this month with the support of two governmental organisations. The Culture Ministry’s Office of Contemporary Art and Culture backed The Contemporarist featuring Phongpat Pongsuriya, Atip Chookiat and Purinat Wongsathapornkul while the Commerce Ministry’s Department of Export Promotion presented The Designers’ Room 2011, comprising Rattana Phatinavin for Que, Nisara Liptawat for Dusk till Dawn, Chanachai Ohpanayikool for Shake Appeal, and Nukoolkit Aeamla-Or for The Urban Apparel.
Purinat is the winner of this year’s Contemporary Fashion Contest, in which young designers are asked to combine traditional Thai materials with the latest styles.
For his collection at the Elle fashion venue, Purinat was inspired by the traditional performing art of khon. His “Militate Heart” collection was elegant and elaborate, hinting at the art form’s human, giant and money warrior characters and enhanced by rings and necklaces.
 The young designer focused mainly on cocktail dresses, loose fitting on the top and with shapely feminine skirts.
 Plaiting and knitting techniques were highlighted and the sparkling embroidery showed the Thai silk in its best light. Key colours were black, navy, grey, yellow and gold.
Atip highlighted weft ikat fabric, making it into flared skirts and pairing them with simple grey t-shirts for a practical yet trendy look. His “Endless” theme played with uneven surfaces with the collection featuring a range of geometric forms including tile shapes. The colourful fabric inspired by vintage tile added even more interest.
The last “contemporarist”, Phongpat, specialises in draping. His collection “Message from Statue” was inspired from Greek and Roman statues and the shape of the clothes reflected details of the gods and goddesses of ancient times.
 A nude chiffon blouse was draped with A-line black skirt while single fabrics draped and beautifully knotted at the chest or the waist created a very feminine silhouette. The colour palette was grey, black, and beige.
In the Designers’ Room project. Narisa from Dusk till Dawn created a cathedral-like ambience on the catwalk with divine messengers dressed in modern missionary style for the “Seraphim Noir” collection.
For Que, Rattana presented a collection dubbed “The Airman’s Creed” with European style Air Force uniforms reinterpreted as more casual wear. Colour palette mixes made the look more interesting, with a dark navy blue suit enhanced by a fresh yellow patch, a black shirt jazzed up with a red trim and navy blue matched with purple.
In keeping with Shake Appeal’s trademark minimalist geek appeal, Chanachai offered a winter collection on the theme “America Workwear and Ivy League” showing both smart office wear and easy walk-in-the-park style outfits.
The Urban Apparel’s collection convinced many the divine messenger had arrived. The clothes were all black, the cuts individualist and dimensional and the only accessory a sharp red acrylic collar.
Nukoolkit said that for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. Thus his collection “Action VS Reaction” presented the unsettling air of time and space.
Ultimately, once again Elle Fashion Week underlined its position as an important stepping stone for up-and-coming designers to make their way into Thailand’s flourishing fashion business.