Thailand has talent

Talented young designers, Thaweesak Chattuwan from Khon Kaen University’s architecture faculty and Krongwan Kananurak, who’s studying at Chulalongkorn University’s fine and applied arts faculty, were recently named the winners of this year’s Grand Sport Young Designer Contest.
Gen Yutthasak Sasiprapa, Deputy Prime Minister and President of National Olympic Committee of Thailand, handed out the awards at the Sofitel Bangkok Sukhumvit.
Organised by Thailand’s leading manufacturer and supplier of sportswear and sport equipment, Grand Sport Group, the annual contest has become an arena for university students to show off their talent for sports apparel. This year theme, “Love Motherland”, appealed for the youngsters and Thaweesak’s design “Tamil” (“Loyal buffaloes, taking care of Isaan”) for Thai boxing caught the eyes of judging committee, as did Krongwan’s “Thai Rise, Raise the Rice” design for women’s beach volleyball.
The group’s managing director, Thiti Pluckchaoom, says that the contest aims to support young people and encourage them to be bolder in their sportswear designs.
“The finalists are trained by professional designers, among them T-Ra Chantasawasdee, owner of fashion brand “Teera” and a contest judge, who mentor them before they actual begin the design work. We selected the ‘Love Motherland’ theme to encourage Thai youngsters to show their historical appreciation, respect and love for their nation,” he says.
“We see great development every year. We don’t organise the contest to impact on sales but to give young people a forum to showcase their creativity and benefit from hands-on experience during the process.”
The ceremony started with a fashion show presenting stylish sportswear for men and women designed by 10 young finalists from seven institutions.
Thaweesak was announced as the winner in the men’s sportswear category, with Sirawit Tongsidum, a Bangkok University student, named first runner-up for his “Missing Grandmom” design for Jet Ski.
In the women’s sportswear category, first runner-up to Krongwan was Chanaradee Chatrakul Na Ayudhya, also from Chulalongkorn University, who presented “ENJOIN” for swimming.
The winners received a special trophy from Her Royal Highness Princess Sirivannavari Nariratana along with a Bt30,000 scholarship and products from Rotring while the first runners-up took home a trophy, a Bt15,000 scholarship as well as Rotring products. Three “outstanding awards” were also given out.
Thaweesak says his inspiration came from the legend “Mr Hoy and his loyal buffaloes”, a tale that demonstrates the same strength and endurance as is needed for boxing.
“Muay Thai is now popular the world over and still remains a martial art unique to the Thai people and our culture. The tone used is based on the concept of Tamil, with black, grey and white trimmed with a reflective red to show strength. Many different pieces of fabric had to be sewn together to get the right pattern and I played with the design function by using colours that reflect the Thai flag in the lining of the jacket,” he says.
Thaweesak adds that the contest has allowed him to gain greater knowledge about the fashion and clothing industry while helping to boost his self-confidence. “I will definitely use this experience in the future,” he concludes.
Krongwan’s “Thai Rise, Raise the Rice” design for Beach Volleyball is, as the name implies, inspired by the many varieties of Thai rice types.
“When I heard the contest’s design concept was Love Motherland, rice was the first thing that came to my mind. Rice is a long-standing feature of Thai life and I wanted to show foreigners the value we place on rice. The colours reflect the many different colours and varieties of Thai rice, for example, brownish-red for brown rice, and black for Seenil rice.
We had to print the colours ourselves as the tones I wanted are not readily available. Since I don’t have much experience in sewing, I had to depend on the expertise of the staff of Grand Sport.
“I really enjoyed the training camp, particularly the opportunity to interact with experts from whom I wouldn’t normally have to chance to learn.”
Yodchai Kuntachawana, newspaper editorial consultant for Siam Sport Daily and a long-time judge of the contest, is delighted at the amount of progress he’s seen over the years.
He says that the Thai Boxing design offers a striking example of sportswear design that is as attractive as it is practical.
He also has praise for Krongwan’s beach volleyball outfit, pointing out that it is the kind of gear a woman would feel attractive wearing while allowing her the freedom in movement she needs for the sport.