Ready to dress Asean up

PROMISING A “VIGOROUS” future for Thai fashion as the Asean trading bloc becomes more cohesive – depending on consumer support and copyright protection – the Bangkok Fashion Society has unveiled its latest collections. 

Like Asean pooling the talents and resources of Southeast Asia’s 10 nations, the society coordinates the efforts and ambitions of 13 top clothing brands: Asava, Curated, Disaya, Greyhound Original, Issue, Kloset, Milin, Painkiller, Playhound by Greyhound, Something Boudoir, Tu’i, Tutti and Tutti Frutti and Vickteerut.

With the backing of Siam Paragon, the Emporium, Chalachol Bangkok, MAC and Absolut Vodka, society members launched the campaign “You are what you wear” at the Emporium’s “Pop Up on 4th” store.

Asava creative director Polpat Asavaprapha, Milin Yuvacharuskul of Milin and Kloset’s Nut Mangkang spoke about Thai fashion’s place in future global trends while also offering tips on stylish dressing. The Thai industry’s aim, they said, is to produce designs that stand out among shifting market trends. 

The collections presented adhered to four themes. 

“Wanderlust” represents adventurous thinking, finding fresh ideas in the imagination, derived from different cultures and eras. 

Milin’s “One Way Ticket” line was presented as the story of a woman flying to freezing Russia but ending up in sweltering Africa, so she has to adjust her winter wear accordingly. Asava trotted out a posh Victorian lady keen on hip-hop and graffiti art, so her wardrobe is covered in cool street-style graphics. Kloset, Something Boudoir and Disaya took imaginative journeys involving love. 

The “Sports Inspired” theme is for active wear, more popular than ever this season. There were some fun twists, such as wearing luxurious items with sport shoes, leggings under shorts, and high heels with gym togs. Colour tags, letters of the alphabet and hoods remain popular details. 

Jitsing Somboon of Playhound by Greyhound said sportswear goes anywhere these days. It’s great as street fashion and easy to wear. A sport vest can serve as a dress, sexily showing off the arms and sides of the torso, paired with running shoes, perhaps in canvas. An undershirt or lovely sport bra can add a little modesty. 

The “Minimalism” theme is about reducing everything to the barest essentials while adding geometric shapes in white, grey and black. Asava uses fine fabrics like duchess silk, jacquard and cotton-blend lace to add texture to its simple and fun outfits. Vickteerut has a way of connecting diverse fabrics to create more interesting patterns. 

The “So Romantic” theme plucks at the heartstrings. Curated by EK Thongprasert finds its inspiration in separation from a loved one, using clever techniques to imbue the fabric with illusions. Kloset’s presentation was advice on how to keep love nourished, with clothes bearing dried flowers of the sort heartsick girls keep tucked inside books. 

Long and loose clothes, blocking, off-the-shoulder and high waists are among the approaches this autumn and winter. Three sets of tones will dominate – black and white; “powder shades” like pink, light blue and light orange; and “power shades” like dark red, dark green and dark blue. Prints on fabrics will be largely freehand or Typeface Maniac or fantasy scenes, with accessories to match. 

Polpat said the sporty and minimal trends’ comeback promises a lot of fun with mixing and matching. “The sporty look doesn’t have to be fully functional. You might be working out, but you can still choose different fabrics and textures for a cooler style, maybe netting below and something sporty on top, or wear high heels with your training shirt!

“The most important thing is knowing how to break with convention and how to be different but still fashionable,” Polpat said. “Minimal means simplicity. It should look like nothing, but the details can make it fun. Sometimes when we dress simply, just adding a cool bag or colourful, stylish shoes makes the simplicity not so boring. 

“If black and white seems too plain, add a little red or blue. If you don’t like to overdress or wear a lot of accessories, create your own style with makeup, but make it more fun with a new shade of lipstick. And don’t forget to have fun with things like a fancy bag and odd shoes.”