All aboard for summer

NEVER MIND what the rest of the world is doing, Bangkok Fashion Society (BFS) is all set to conquer Thailand’s neighbours in the Asean Economic Community with spring-summer collections by 14 leading local brands on the concept “Bangkok Base Asean Best”.
Society president Polpat Asavaprapa and designer for Asava and ASV is confident that Thailand can lead the way in the AEC and sat down recently with Nat Mangkang, head designer of Kloset and stylist Araya Indra to talk about the group’s new collections for spring and summer 2015 as well as the inspirations behind the designs.
Noting that global trends are attempting to fight against the dark problems facing the world by emphasising the 1960’s slogan “Make love not war”, Polpat says that BFS has put together three trends for the upcoming season.
“The first is ‘Summer Feast’ and it’s fun, highly feminine yet very sporty. Graphics are added to make the look more interesting,” he says.
“Disaya’s ‘Beau du Jour’ collection confirms early-morning feminine beauty with elegant prints as its inspiration. The look uses more bright colours than the previous collection but still keeps lovely details using the cross-stitch technique,” says Araya.
“Milin’s ‘Morning After’ collection meanwhile celebrates ‘the morning after the night before’ with soft fabrics adorned with powdery colour reflecting the sunshine.”
Kloset too has come up with a new inspiration celebrating summer. “When summer knocks on the door, you can’t be sad even if you are heartbroken. The new collection ‘Holiday Heartbreaker’ takes fashionistas on a journey filled with inspiration, adventures and new discoveries. Liveliness is translated into textiles and chromatic hues such as beige, blue, khaki, leaf green, white and red to display the mild and pleasant touch of nature. There are also bold graphic prints inspired by Kenya’s tribal ethnic garments and flock of flamingos,” Nat enthuses.
Tutti’s “Luscious Green” collection has a comfortable silhouette, cool look, clean colour and adds a touch of green, “rather like decorating food with a sprig of mint to enhance the presentation,” Araya quips.
Accessories label Tui’i goes for’80s glam with “Girl Talk”, a collection designed expressly for party girls, which includes heart-shaped metallic Lover’s Eyes” sunglasses.
The second trend “Self Rule” puts the chic minimalist woman in the centre of the spotlight.
“The designs are very liberating – simple but elegant. Geometric shapes are underlined with wide-legged tailor-made trousers, jackets and suits. Asava, for example, presents a collection called ‘The State of Mind’, which includes such silhouettes as a short-sleeved cocktail dress and long- sleeved gown that exude a sense of confidence. Geometric patterns, angles and graphic lines are a major inspiration and we anticipate that cobalt blue will be the hit colour of the season,” Polpat says.
Curated’s “Grey Garden” collection was inspired by a Jeff Koon’s documentary. “So the character is very strong,” says Araya. “What seems like intricate embroidery work is actually stamped on – patterns that create an illusion.”
“Painkiller’s spring and summer 2015 collection can be summarised as the future seen from the past. It’s called ‘Former Future’ and reflects the optimism generated by rapid change in technology in the 1970s,” Nat says.
The collection highlights a new colour, the bold Klein-Blue. The prints are made into galactic city-themes – “Colony” is the new turf and “UFO” the buzzing sky-traffic.
Playhound, on the other hand, is inspired by the behaviour of Art School students. The main print |for this collection consists of a |rough sketch of geometric shapes done in a ballpoint then covered |in paint brushstrokes.
Senada meanwhile relives the classic elements at the height of the Swing era with a contemporary sense of style. Through improvisation of the fabrics, the “Twist and Shout” collection focuses on refined materials and attention to detail rather than prints and comes in such soft colours as milky, powder and ivory white. It’s a balanced showcase of clean-cut proportions and includes the line’s signature pencil skirts and A-line dresses.
The last trend is “Culture Club” and plays with prints inspired by various cultures during different eras.
Greyhound’s “The World on the Bright Side” collection accentuates the beauty that the world still has to offer by merging surrealistic representations with the abstract visual language of Henri Matisse and Kenneth Price. Dresses and suit are overlaid in a camouflage style, and accompanied by the kind of surreal colours often detected in comic books. Greyhound’s staple hues of black, white and grey are still in evidence but with drops of cobalt blue, orange and brown.
Issue continues to focus on the rich Thai cultural heritage. This season the label draws its inspiration from King Rama VI’s gentlemen known as “Nai” with sporty jackets, loose vests and fabrics screened with unique print motifs as well as hand-embroidered motifs on caps and handbags.
“Something Boudoir and Vickteerat have both gone for the beach looks,” says Polpat.
Something Boudoir’s “The Surfarista” is designed for young girls in search of a perfect blend between trendy beach look and pool party weekend. The collection comes with a chic water graphic pattern and boasts thick-heeled sandals decorated with zigzag pattern and frills.
Vickteerat’s “Spirited Away” collection evokes the ultimate cruising experience with the structure of a canvas sail interpreted into fringed panels on oversized trousers and sleeveless tunics, different sized pleats on both mini-dresses and evening numbers and the knotting on dock ropes appearing on blouses and dresses with a front slit.