The magic milliner

The magic milliner

SOCIAL & LIFESTYLE
The magic milliner

Eric Tobua can craft headdresses that literally turn heads. Not many people know about the 33-year-old stylist yet but we think they should. He's an avant-garde milliner who has created elaborate, one-of-a-kind and OMG-what-is-that headdresses for runways, fashion shoots, and concerts. He has styled fashion shoots for many Thai fashion magazines. His haute headpieces have also been featured at both past Wonderfruit Festivals and will be again at its third edition in Dec. This Khon Kaen native showcases his conversation starting pieces via his personal IG (@erictobua) and work IG (@erictobuastudio) accounts.

How did you get your start in the fashion industry?

I had always been interested in all forms of art since I was very young. But it wasn't until I moved to London to study at Central Saint Martins that I discovered my passion for fashion. The city was so inspiring for me. After my graduation (with a Foundation Diploma in Art & Design), my friend, who's also a CSM graduate, introduced me to people in the Thai fashion scene. I met Art Araya Indra, who's a famous stylist and had an opportunity to work with her. I also got to work for LIPS magazine fashion editor Jirawat Sriluansoi. Both were my mentors.

When did you start to become known for your haute headdresses?

While working as a stylist, I started experimenting with different materials, creating props and headpieces as an outlet for my own creativity. Art Araya saw them and asked me to create headpieces for her. This led to more people knowing me as a milliner and opportunities for me to create fascinators and headdresses for runways, fashion shoots, and celebs likes Gene Kasidit and Chompoo Araya.

What do you find fascinating about designing and making headdresses?

In my opinion, each one is unique because it conveys the wearer's personality. I feel like it's a process of getting to know a person or a brand and somehow portraying that character through an object. It's like creating a portrait but by my paint and brushes are feathers, forks, durian husks or whatever I see fit.

Tell us more about your creative process.

When I work for a fashion brand, it's a combination of what they ask me to do plus my own ideas. When I design for celebs, it's more about using a facet of that person as a framework for my creation and enhancing on it. I don't sketch my designs beforehand but I always have an image of the end product in my mind. It makes the process more fun and challenging to me like I get to solve a puzzle along the way.

Where do you find inspiration for your work?

My muse can come in various shapes and forms. I'm a fan of so many people from fashion designer Lee Alexander McQueen, surrealist painter Salvador Dali to new-generation UK club kids like Jenkin van Zyl. I would like to think that I find beauty in everything from discarded durian husks (which he turned into a mask) to an old shoe with seashell grown on it. What also gets me excited is seeing people around the world, via Instagram, expressing themselves through fashion. However, my biggest heroes remain tribal people who create art with just what they can find in their surroundings. I really like it when people can make something fabulous despite the creative restrictions they may have.

What's your long-term plan?

I would love to work with artists from different disciplines. I want to know and learn from people from other "tribes" outside the fashion world. Maybe I want to use great architecture as inspiration for my future pieces or study the traditional methods of making a Khon mask. Eventually I would love to have my own exhibition to showcase the work I've done as a result of working with and learning from other artists.

Do you have any tips for people who want to stand out at a party?

I would encourage you to take a step or two outside your comfort zone. That daring feel makes everything more fun, in my experience. Try on new things without thinking about any supposed dressing rules and wear them with confidence. Have fun with accessorising yourself from head to toe. When you have fun, it just shows.

Whose head(s) would you like to dress the most with your creations?

In my fantasy, I would love to create Thai chada for Lee Alexander McQueen and fashion editor Isabella Blow. They had a complex friendship while they were still alive. I myself would wear a lobster headpiece and walk arm-in-arm with Dali into an opening night of my own exhibition and meet them there. It would be like a strange double-date. g

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