'Society' gets high on summer

The 17 Thai clothing brands grouped together as the Bangkok Fashion Society uncorked their creations for the coming spring and summer on Tuesday at the W Bangkok Hotel. Four key trends emerged – “Happy Attitude”, “Beach Culture”, “Urban Invention” and “Makeover”.
The group has a new chairperson – Polpat Asavaprapa of the Asava label – the new slogan “Bangkok Based, Bangkok Best”, and a website created in collaboration with the Tourism Authority of Thailand. That’s at www.ThailandFashionDesigner.com.
Polpat and Kloset’s creative designer, Nat Mangkang, presented the latest trends. The overall idea is to chill out and take life easy, Polpat said.
“The fashion industry has also abandoned the notion of ‘the end of the world’,” Nat added. “In its places is a relaxed mode, so you can live a good life and explore undiscovered paths from a fresh perspective.
“Meanwhile the ‘encore’ is another global trend, the readiness to repay the past with a modern vision.”
“Happy Attitude” involves two sub-categories.
“Soft Provocative” offers a charming, alluring look based on clever cutting that shows off the figure and bares more skin, as in a shirt cropped at the waist. Disaya, Theatre, Sanchai, Kloset and Greyhound are all pursuing this approach.
“Dare to Wear” matches colourful and graphic patterns. “The prints are amazing this season, and most brands have them,” Polpat noted. “It really shows the confidence of the young generation.”
Issue’s collection is inspired by a poem by King Rama II about food, with various dishes and desserts printed on every imaginable item, from blazers to shoes to scarves. Disaya Sorakraikittikul’s new Something Boudoir brand, with its Kisses from the Blooms line, has all the colours of nature and three major prints – Day and Night, English Yards and Brick Garden.
“Beach Culture”, consisting of “Beach in the City” and “Beach Twist”, stems from the belief that “there are no longer any fixed rules for dressing according to a specific time and place”, as Nat put it. “We’ve brought beachwear into the city and, of course, lingerie to the pool party!”
“The designers have applied techniques for cutting swimwear to casual wear, so there’ll be more spaghetti-strap blouses, colourful tank tops and shorts and loose jumpsuits in daily life,” Polpat said. “And bikinis have been redesigned with draping and peplum techniques as tops, shorts and miniskirts.”
The labels doing this include Greyhound, Playhound, Something Boudoir, Curated by Ek Thongprasert, Asava, Sanchai and Kloset.
Milin girls welcome the summer with the chic and funny “Lady to Drink” collection. “My inspiration came from delicious cocktails, of course,” said Milin Yuvacharuskul, showing new silhouettes, proportion and colours. The solid silhouette resembles a cocktail glass, with spaghetti strings around the waist. The beachwear-style halter-neck dresses recall fun on the summer sand in the fruity colours of strawberry, kiwi, lemon and orange.
“Urban Invention” takes in the “New Capital and No Dress Code” styles.
“The designers want to present original ideas that go far beyond the routine, such as loose-cropped shirts, see-through dresses, crepe jackets and patch-printed blazers,” Polpat explained. “You’ll see more formal jackets paired with shorts. Vickteerut, Theatre, Disaya, Munchu’s, Painkiller, Kloset and Senada, as well as Tu’I, all have these key looks.”
Greyhound highlights graphic design in describing a world after a great disaster. It’s Natural Error and Digital Error concepts combine in “Disarter” (Disaster + Art). For men there’s an oversized silhouette in long shirts and wrinkles in the jackets, trousers and bags to add interest.
“Makeover” utilises a “Reformulate and Reprint” concept. “The structures are interesting in a way that’s different from previous seasons,” Polpat said. “Check out the cropped trousers, bareback blouses and open-shoulder dresses in different shapes.”
“Every brand is really having fun playing with prints,” Nat added. “Kloset, Playhound, Painkiller, Asava, Something Boudoir, Issue all feature unique prints.”
Overall the spring and summer brings lots more “inside out and outside in” clothes as designers play with cropping techniques and goose up typical shirts, for example, with ruffled sleeves and fancy collars. Body-conscious shapes large and small will be in evidence, along with pencil skirts and circular cuts for the sweet and sophisticated lady.