Crafting the perfect cut

 The fourth edition of the event took place from September 12 to 16 and while there was a focus on Austrian designers, selected international talents also got a chance to showcase their works.

Thanks to the continuous collaboration between the fashion week organiser and Thailand’s Department of International Trade and Promotion, four young Thai designers have been showing their outfits on the catwalk since 2010. 

“We want to continue promoting the talent of young Thai designers to international audiences” explains Pornpimol Petcharakul, the director of the Thai Trade Centre in Vienna. “Out hope is that they will inspire other young Thais to follow in their path.”

Two of the four designers selected for the 2012 edition had shown in Vienna before. “I want to bring some continuity to the show,” says organiser Zigi Mueller. “It makes no sense having them here once then never seeing them again. We like to bring them back so that people can see how they’ve developed.”

The two “returnees” were Chatkeo Srisuwan of Mosstories, an accessories and fashion brand, and Chalermkiat Khatikasemlert of street-savvy label Wonder Anatomie, back for his third consecutive showing. Mueller says the young designer has also been selected for the city’s “Artist in Residence”, meaning he’ll be spending three months in Vienna in the company of other talented young artists, sharing experiences and learning about life in the Austrian capital.

Key to selecting these two brands were requests from Austrian fashionistas. “All year people have been asking, ‘will they be coming back’?” says Mueller. “Those two sold the most and garnered the most interest last year too,” she adds.

Mueller flew to Thailand earlier this year at the invitation of the DITP to select her designers. “Since we already had Wonder Anatomie and Mosstories, which offer two totally different concepts, I wanted two that would fit in between.”

Clutching her shortlist, she visited the shops and admits she found the experience not just enriching but also a lot of fun. “It is very interesting to meet them in their own environment. They are so open. And of course they are more confident and comfortable in their own spaces,” she says.

Mueller picked Chamaimas Karnasuta of Pisces, who designs ready-to-wear outfits for women and Sansanee Toesomboon of Sane of Molly, a brand offering men and women clothes with a vintage and rock ’n’ roll influence. All four designers were asked to come up a collection of 20 outfits for spring-summer 2013.

The fashion show by the Thai designers was among 60 shows that took place on the catwalk in front of the museum quarter in the heart of Vienna. The venue was packed, proving that Thai designers were among the favourites.

Pisces’s “Not Available” kicked off proceedings with Chamaimas’s loose-cut and light fabrics in pastel shades emphasising the feeling of being free. Asymmetric lines and silhouettes signified the concept of disconnecting from the world. 

Next came “Love” by Sane of Molly, which hinted at the 1980s but brought modernity into the design. Geometrical lines and shapes dominated the collection and the menswear in particular drew loud applause from the crowd.

Mosstories “Ethnic” was inspired by human structures and the bright colours of a safari trek. Elephants, parrots and tigers were used to create silhouettes and emphasised the accessories, which are the brand’s strongest point.

The show ended with Wonder Anatomie’s “Tattoo after Death”. Chalermkiat picked the key elements of his favourite body art, assembled them in 3D format then used them to decorate his clothes and accessories. As with earlier collections, the dominant colour was black.

After the show, the audience had the chance to buy their favourite items and chat with the designers. “That’s great for us because when we’re in Thailand, we are mostly in our studios creating new collections. Most designers don’t have time to meet their customers,” Mosstories’ Chatkeo says.

Chamaimas and Sansanee loved the experience, confiding that they had learned a great deal about the tastes and sizes of Europeans.

For Chatkeo, the opportunity was a chance to judge if the lessons learned the previous year had paid off.

“The most important thing I learned from last year was I have to stay true to myself. Mosstories’ strength have always been accessories but last year I put much more effort into the clothes because I thought a ‘fashion show’ meant clothes not accessories per se,” she explains.

“The feedback was that people were more interested in my accessories than my clothes. So this year I did it the other way round, emphasising what I do best, and the result was amazing!

“Bringing designers back to such a show really help completes the learning process. It’s certainly a great way to help Thai designers reach the international stage,” she concludes.