Enchanted by the emperor

THE BUTTONED uniforms of the Napoleonic era blended with the gold and white of the Roman Empire last week as Her Royal Highness Princess Sirivannavari Nariratana, creative director of the exclusive fashion brand Sirivannavari, unveiled her collection for spring and summer 2015 in an extravagant showing at Royal Paragon Hall.
The princess states in her press release that the inspiration for the collection kicked up while she was reviewing her dissertation for l’Ecole De La Chambre Syndicale De La Couture Parisienne, which explored the Napoleonic uniforms.
“Looking at my work, I came up with the idea of making the sketches real, giving them a modern touch and adding some Neoclassic and Roman details to the collection. These include such embroidered motifs as an ear of rice, a bee, an olive wreath, a leopard and the stars,” she says.
Models gracefully sashayed along the runway wearing 40 looks. Unique in structure, the garments are beautifully tailored, enhanced by lucky charms from the Neoclassical period and given a Dadaist twist.
“For the latest collection, I created a variety of new structures. For instance, the shoulders are rounded, echoing the shoulder line of a vintage French jacket. Both short and long length jackets have a geometric pattern. The sleeves of women’s jacket were developed from a man’s jacket. This collection also features the so-called ‘Beehive Smock”, which is mixed with pleats to create an asymmetrical skirt. Another highlight is the interchangeable collar, which can be used as an accessory with other looks,” the princess adds.
In addition to the unique silhouette, the spotlight also brought up the splendid Dadaist prints featuring a range of symbols from the Neoclassic period including the eagle, bee, leopard, dove and horse.
Dadaism is an avant-garde art movement that broke the traditional rules of aesthetics. This artistic style is often found in collages, photomontages and assemblages. The graphics can be seen in the women’s ready-to-wear, accessories and swimwear and in the men’s capsule collection (embroidered polo shirts, T-shirts and ties.)
Another highlight is the Bijoux collection crafted in gold-coated metal with Neoclassic motifs. In Greek mythology the bee signifies immortality, the olive wreath victory and the ear of rice conveys abundance. Each piece is made of brass coated with white gold or Hamilton gold, and adorned with amethyst, rose quartz or freshwater pearls as well as stones in various colours such as emerald green, amber yellow, olive green and sapphire pink.
The leather goods collection presents bags, belts and shoes, which continue the theme of the ready-to-wear collection. The key details include pleated leather, python, golden buttons, golden rings, tassels and frills. Gladiator stilettos and flats decorated with golden buttons and rings dominate the shoe collection.
“Even though there is an array of details in this collection, each piece still clearly represents the signature design of Sirivannavari. I hope everyone can appreciate the true essence of the brand,” the princess concluded.
The Spring/Summer 2015 collection is now available at the Sirivannavari boutique on the first floor of Siam Paragon.