Witoon Krungthong has been pedalling his bicycle around sois and communities to offer cloth dyeing services for 18 years. The industrial textile industry may have made the profession of artisan cloth dyeing redundant, but Witoon still finds customers willing to pay him to turn their clothes black.
To solve the shortage of black shirts amid the funeral rite of His Majesty the King Bhumibol, volunteers help dying clothes black for low-income earners to wear during the official mourning period. Photos by Brandon Harder
"There is only one day in the past 18 years that I did not have a customer. Most of the time someone usually asks my to dye their worn-out shirt or a pair of Levi's to black," said Witoon, 46, adding that he earns around 600-800 baht a day. He charges 50 baht for a shirt and 70 baht for a pair of trousers.
Witoon's expertise has become rather quaint, though people who grew up 40-50 years ago were familiar with the sight of cloth dyers pedalling around. Witoon still makes daily rounds in Nonthaburi, Pathum Thani, Nakhon Pathom and Ratchaburi, and he still enjoys a sense of freedom the job gives him (he later added a knife-sharpening service).
Although he hails from the Northeast province of Surin, Witoon has toiled at his craft in the central region for many years. At night, he sleeps at the nearest temple. No one bosses him around -- except his wife when he returns home for harvest season, he confesses. Above all, he enjoys when people raise their eyebrows and ask how much he makes. "Construction workers often laugh at me. They cannot imagine how much money I can make in a single day."
Witoon's service suddenly has become essential following the death of His Majesty King Bhumibol. Last Saturday, the dyer was asked to hurriedly return to Bangkok to dye clothes for people in need of a black wardrobe for the mourning period. Witoon said yes right away. For him, these are not faded coloured clothes or jeans, but essential attire people need to honour their beloved King.
"This is the first and last time I can do something for Por Luang," said Witoon, referring to the King.
The person who called Witoon to Bangkok turned out to be the manager of actress Araya "Chompoo" Hargate, one of the most famous faces of Thai showbiz. The actress and her friends decided to help low-income earners have black shirts to wear. As it has happened in the past week, the demand for black clothes surged, the shortage of which has become a national agenda that threatens to spark social divide -- there are sporadic reports of insults being hurled at those wearing brightly coloured clothes.
The garage at on Rama IV converted into a makeshift cloth-dyeing factory.
The government has started to hand out black clothes to low-income citizens, while the forgotten art of cloth-dyeing has returned en vogue as several volunteer groups have set up dyeing workshops or offered dyeing services for free.
"Those who have a big wardrobe do not understand that it is a big deal for low-income earners such as security guards or motorcycle taxi drivers to find proper black attire for funeral rites and their family members," said Chavaporn Laohapongchana, who is looking after a newly set up dyeing facility. Her father, veteran politician Preecha Laohapongchana, brought Witoon and two other dyers to Bangkok last weekend and turned a huge garage on Rama IV into a makeshift cloth-dyeing factory.
Since Monday, more than 2,000 people have come and more than 15,000 shirts dyed black. In just a few days the facility has become famous, with celebrities coming to volunteer.
"Our facility just provides a way for people to have their own black shirts. It is wise to reuse our resources. Of course, the dyed clothes might not be pitch black -- it may be more greyish dark, but it is their own black shirts and I think they will be proud to wear them," said Chavaporn.
This Rama IV facility is one of many to have mushroomed in Bangkok in the past few days. The Education Ministry has offered a crash course to teach people how to dye their own clothes. Another private and pro-bono dyeing centre is located at Sky Exits film production studio on Lat Phrao 88/1, which opened two days after the King died.
Supranee Sriboonsong, a freelance fashion stylist working in advertisement and film production, said she felt the urge to help after witnessing people scrambling to get black shirts and hearing stories of social discrimination against those who couldn't wear black for economic and other reasons.
"I saw a man knock on a car window questioning the driver for not wearing black. That is too much and I think we must do something," said Supranee, who asked her former boss at Sky Exits to initiate the cloth dyeing service.
Residents in Lat Phrao area bring clothes to Sky Exits studio for dyeing.
For someone who works in film production, dyeing cloth is just a walk in the park. "We have the know-how, the manpower and the necessary equipment. We are ready, and we want to do something for His Majesty the King," said Supranee.
The chief operator of this cloth dyeing centre is Sukris Chanpen, who also works in film production. His speciality on the set is to dye clothes into colours to suit a film's content and visual design.
Usually, the team will dye cloth for casts or movie stars to wear, but this time, they are making black shirts for ordinary people to join in the mourning of His Majesty the King, which is perhaps larger than any movie can capture. "Only once in a blue moon or perhaps once in a lifetime can I use my expertise to serve an event so meaningful and so endeared to our hearts," said Sukris, who has recently working on the foreign production First They Killed My Father, a film shot in Cambodia and directed by Angelina Jolie.
Locals in Lat Phrao arrive at the studio holding huge bags of old and worn-out shirts. They are required to leave their clothes for one day. As part of the process, Sukris soaks the dyed clothes in salt water to prevent discolouration.
If their shirt cannot be dyed, people are encouraged to pick already block-dyed clothes from the racks. Supranee however found that people prefer to have their own shirts dyed instead picking one from the donation.
Witoon Krungthong, commercial cloth-dyer.
"Some people even have their favourite bright new shirts dyed black. It is not just a black shirt to them; it is an act of showing love and respect to the King." At the row of hanging cloth, there is a beautiful salmon-peach shirt that the owner insisted be dyed black. Regardless of their previous life, a number of shirts will become black to signify sorrow, respect and for Thailand at this particular moment, devotion.
Or maybe not necessarily. "Wearing white, black or other colours, I believe we are all alike," said Supranee. "No matter what colour we wear, I believe we are equally sad and in devotion to our beloved King."
Dyeing services
- The Bangkok Metropolitan Authority offers free cloth-dyeing services at 10 youth centres around the capital: Klong Toey, Lat Krabang, Nong Chok, Jom Thong, Bang Kae, Tung Kru, Bang Na, Lumpini, Rama IX and Bang Khuntien. Call 02-350-2482.
- The Education Ministry offers a short course and free dyeing service at their official tent opposite Wat Maha That, near Sanam Luang.
- Sky Exits Studio, Lat Phrao 88/1. The service is run by film production crew with professional costume expertise.
- Faculty of Fine Arts, Chiang Mai University.
- The dyeing facility run by Chavaporn Laohapongchana on Rama IV, in Krung Thai Tractor Company and opposite Theptarin Hospital.
