Creating Fashion Synergy

By Rupak D Sharma
Bangkok, March 7
 
On the last day of Thailand’s Emporium World Fashion Showcase, Kriengsak Tantiphipop was spotted walking around the bar in front of the catwalk hall entrance gate on the sixth floor of Emporium mall.

Amidst the frenzy of photographers surrounding the models, fashion designers and other prominent figures of fashion industry, he was attending to his guests and saying final adieus looking contented.

He has organised countless fashion shows before—more than 200 to be precise. But none of the previous shows gave him similar joy and happiness as this one.

“This one is special,” Kriengsak, senior managing director of Emporium Shopping Complex, the organiser of the US$1.26-million event, told Asia News. Special because more than a fashion show he considered it a reward for his several years of hard work.

“After years of effort I was finally able to bring prominent names of Paris and Milan under one roof in Bangkok,” he said. “This is not only an accomplishment for me and my shopping complex but a feat for the entire Thai fashion industry.”

It was indeed a feat, as seven renowned international brands ranging from Chanel, Chloe, Emilio Pucci and Fendi to Giorgio Armani, Kenzo and Valentino had shared the same runway of the ‘Emporium World Fashion Showcase 2008’ for first the time in Thailand’s fashion history.

Adding some more feathers to the cap, Giorgio Armani also used the Fashion Showcase as a platform to launch its Samsung-Giorgio Armani mobile   phones in Asia; and of all the fashion events and cities in the region, Fendi agreed to unveil its Fendi 10+ collection of bags here, together with Milan and New York.

Compared to strides made by some other fashion cities in Asia, many call Kriengsak’s achievement a rather small one. “But these small endorsements and favours are enhancing the credibility of Bangkok in the world fashion circle and bringing us an inch closer to the greater goal of establishing the country as an international fashion hub,” Kriengsak said.

Kriengsak, a relatively short man, has always thought tall. His aim of transforming the country into one of the world’s fashion centre may sound hollow to many but the moves he has made for almost one and a half decades demonstrate his resoluteness to achieve this end.

He took the first step some 11 years ago by helping establish Emporium Shopping Complex in Phrom Pong, Bangkok. The luxury mall opened during the Asian financial crisis of 1997, now houses classic brands like Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Christian Dior and Hermes and Cartier and is a famous playground for local and international fashionistas.

“The opening of Emporium played a crucial role in generating awareness about luxury branded apparels among Thais. It also helped us to introduce Thailand as a shopping destination for high-end tourists,” Kriengsak said, calling them the “first important steps towards transforming the country into an international fashion hub”.

He then went on to organise fashion events, but on smaller scales. “The purpose again was to generate awareness as without educating people and making them fashionable we knew we would never be able to bring the idea to full fruition,” he said. In the meantime, he also helped open another luxury shopping complex, Siam Paragon, in Siam Square, Bangkok, now known as one of the best shopping complexes in Asia.

Then the turning point came when he and some other fashion enthusiasts were able to convince Thaksin Shinawatra’s government to convert their aim of establishing Thailand as an international fashion hub into a national policy in 2005.

A committee was formed under the Ministry of Industry and a fund of 1.8 billion baht ($57 million) was allocated for 11 priority projects ranging from training, education, road show to fashion events. Kriengsak was made the chairman of the project called Bangkok Fashion Week, which was entrusted with the task of organising fashion shows in Thailand.

“With the government’s backing we thought we would be able to reach our destination in shorter time,” Kriengsak said. But his dreams were shattered when the government withdrew its hand after organising two fashion events.

“For a moment I was taken aback but I was not ready to put a brake on my journey. And since I had set my foot on this voyage long before the government extended its support, I was confident in achieving what I had desired without their backing,” Kriengsak said.

Another reason that compelled Kriengsak to move ahead was the fear of losing credibility in the world market. “When we announce long-term projects, buyers and media expect that to take place at one time of the year and if we suddenly retract it would be hard to win their confidence and support next time,” he said.

Fearing this consequence, he has been organising Bangkok Fashion Week—now renamed to Bangkok International Fashion Week (BIFW)—through financial resources mobilised by his shopping complexes since then. BIFW, organised twice a year, has emerged as a mega fashion event which provides a platform for local designers to showcase their products.

For Kriengsak all these little achievements are another brick laid on his dream project of turning the country into a fashion hub. But there are some who consider his works as mere marketing gimmicks aimed at promoting his shopping complexes and expanding his influence in the Thai fashion market.

This may be true to some extent but at the same time the critics must acknowledge that his works are also creating a synergy in Thai fashion industry.

Taking the cue from his works many have now started organising fashion events or erecting new fashion complexes, which, in turn, are creating awareness about brands among people, generating market for fashion designers and fashion related goods, encouraging those in business to show enhance their quality, design and craftsmanship, and helping internationalise Thai fashion.

In addition, international fashion events like the World Fashion Showcase are motivating local fashion industry to develop their style, design concept and attitude to meet international high-end fashion standard.

These ultimately are strengthening the foundations of the country which aspires to turn itself into international fashion hub.

“The prospects are great for this country,” Guillanume Sauzin, managing director of Chanel (Thailand) said. “The local players are showing their passion for the cause and international brands are also expressing interest in organising more shows. This is what Thailand needs to turn itself into a fashion capital.”(Published in Asia News)

Chic means costumes with arty, colorful prints

BY RUPAK D SHARMA
BANGKOK, FEB 6

Ladies, be prepared to don outfits splashed with strange looking patterns and abstracts in bold colors, as art will dominate fashion in the upcoming seasons.

Whether they be voluminous couture-like gowns, cocktail dresses, flirtatious one-shoulder and strapless pieces or casual wear, most of the clothes you buy in spring and summer will be stamped with big prints, surrealist painting, bold floral prints, and neo tie-dye and watercolor effects.

That was the underlying message of the six-day Emporium World Fashion Showcase 2008, which concluded in Bangkok Tuesday evening.

Of the five world renowned brands based in Paris and Milan that unveiled their spring-summer collections at the runway of Emporium Shopping Complex, three adorned their dresses with splashes of colorful brushstrokes and prints, challenging the conventional theory that elegance always means plain black.

Kenzo, a French fashion giant founded by Japanese designer Kenzo Takada, was the most colorful at the event, featuring myriad of contrast colors like black, peach, gold, turquoise, purple and red. Its flowery sequin embroidered dresses with magnificent color of the tropical forest offered a totally different taste to Bangkok’s fashionistas.

Next in line to convert dresses into a colorful canvas was Emilio Pucci, the innovator of prints which created a revolution in the fashion industry in 1950s. The difference, however, was while Kenzo chose luminous wallpaper like floral prints, Pucci concentrated on geometric and kinetic prints of pink, red, purple, turquoise and washed out shades of blue and yellow.

As Kristen Ingersoll, fashion and entertainment director of Hearst Magazine International put it: “The upcoming seasons are going to be very lively and vivacious. And it is not only dresses, but fashion accessories like handbags, and billboards, windows of stores and magazines featuring fashion advertisements will also be filled with colors and prints.”

However, those without appetite for colorful patterns and abstract art need not panic as there will be choices for them as well, she added.

At the fashion event there were brands like Chloé that unveiled dresses with subtle colors accented by small embroidered flowers and prints, perfect for those who do not prefer bold colors.

And for those who don’t like change, there were outfits in plain neutral colors and neo-neutral color like safari brown designed by Valentino and Chanel. In addition to that clothes with traditional polka dots and ruffles, and gowns with intricate laces were also on offer.

“But if you want to be trendy and hip it is colorful prints this spring and summer,” Ingersoll said.

And who knows even if you don’t like colors you may fall for it once you see it. “After all it’s the mood and the way you perceive things,” Ingersoll said, giving example of how Shakira, who had initially rejected to pose for photographs in outfits with floral prints later agreed to after inspecting the dresses. (Published in The Kathmandu Post)

Paris and Milan come to Bangkok

BY RUPAK D SHARMA
BANGKOK, FEB 1

Almost all of the 600 people, settled in benches inside a small hall on the sixth floor of Bangkok’s Emporium shopping mall Thursday evening, were craning their necks every now and then to see whether anything was unfolding in the front.

It was already 8pm and the show that was supposed to start at 7 had shown no signs of beginning.

But this was not infusing a feeling of resentment in the crowd and no one seemed to be throwing tantrums at the organizers. Instead, the delay was arousing a strange sense of curiosity among those present, causing them to wonder what Chanel had in store for this spring and summer seasons.

And as the model emerged on the ramp stuffed in one-piece loose-fitting dress made of denim, the concealed excitement burst into a round of applause.

As the show proceeded, Chanel unveiled the reinvented versions of its simple but elegant double ‘C’ dresses with dazzling starts, hallmark tweed coats, sports wear, the famous 2.55 handbag, evergreen two-tone shoes and accessories such as camellia flower made of fine fabric and jewelries.

In less than 20 minutes the show ended leaving a note that Chanel, the French fashion giant, has endorsed neutral colors–namely cream, white, black and denim blue–for this spring and summer seasons.

The conclusion of Chanel’s brief fiesta marked the beginning of a bigger event, Emporium World Fashion Showcase (EWFS) 2008–the biggest international fashion event held in Thailand till date.

Organized with an aim of transforming Thailand into an international fashion hub and promoting Thailand’s high-end tourism market, EWFS 2008 will unveil designs of renowned international brands, such as Chloé, Emilio Pucci, Fendi, Kenzo and Valentino, in the next five days.

In other words, the works of renowned fashion industries of Paris and Milan will be showcased under one roof in Bangkok.  The event, organised by Emporium Shopping Complex, will also feature Giorgio Armani-Samsung fashion party, where Giorgio Armani-Samsung mobile phones will be launched for the first time in Asia.

Other attractions include Fendi Showcase where Fendi will launch its “Fendi 10+” bags. The bags, which come in ten different colors, will be unveiled in Bangkok together with Milan and New York.

Talking to the Post, Kriengsak Tantiphipop, senior managing director of Emporium Shopping Complex, the organizer of the event, said: “This is first time leading fashion brands of Milan and Paris are sharing the same ramp in Thailand. We hope the shows will be beneficial to local designers, marketing and industry executives and students, and encourage local fashion industry to develop their style, design concept and attitude to meet international high-end fashion standard.” (Published in The Kathmandu Post)