‘People who know the craft can make some A$5 [125 baht] fabric look like it’s worth $100,” says Chitra Mangma. The fabulously-dressed designer doesn’t just know her French seams and how to create shapes from textiles — she’s got the ABCs of running a brand down too.
Chitra Mangma.
That’s mainly why she makes such a great fashion mentor to students. Ever since she first opened Chitra’s Closet in Brunswick, Australia, in 2003, the children of her customers, as well as students from the nearby RMIT University, would trickle into her divinely-decorated store — not to buy her feminine and fanciful creations, but to ask for her advice about the business of fashion. Besides making clothes, it was one of the things that Chitra had always done best. After 11 years and 22 collections later, the tired 48-year-old decided that it was time for a change of pace and to return home.
Back in Thailand, Chitra is currently the mentor of “The Look”, a Thai-Australian creative design project partially funded by the Australia-Thailand Institute (ATI). It enables students of Industrial Design from Khon Kaen University to create and exhibit their professional collections, ranging from textiles and accessories, to ceramic objects made from local materials that creatively reflect on local culture. Following a display in Khon Kaen, the students will then get to travel to Melbourne for an exhibition at Brunswick Business Incubator for an opportunity to collaborate and exchange ideas with Australian fashion students.
“It inspired me that there are so many kids out there that don’t have any guidance,” says Chitra. “They have so much imagination and great ideas but don’t know which direction to head after they’re done with the product. Most kids I talk to don’t start at one, they’re already at 10. When they graduate, they just want to start a brand immediately without asking the what, where, when, why and how. It’s not easy to create a look and to enter a market.”
Chitra, also an alumna of Khon Kaen University, reflects on her own story in order to search for grains of advice to survive in this industry. Although Brunswick was known to have many artists in the area, none had any interesting commercial ventures in sight until Chitra opened up her beautifully-decorated and eye-catching shop. Her Alice in Wonderland-themed fashion show — in all its glory with giant teapots, Champagne and guests dressed to the nines — attracted a large crowd even though tickets had to be bought, unlike here in Thailand. She stood out for her funky character and whimsical clothes, which easily caught the attention of the media and Australian Fashion Week — making her popularity spread like wildfire among women who wanted a touch of whimsy to what they wore.
Still, Chitra remembers how much time and hard work had to go in to establishing herself as a brand with a loyal following. Alongside designing, she remembers having to do all the PR, website and event work by herself — something she thankfully had a background in, owing to her past experience at an ad agency.
“I didn’t even get to celebrate birthdays and new years like others for five years because of this business,” she recalls. “You really need to know how to do everything yourself. What do you do when you can’t sell?
“We all have a stage where all our friends and family will buy our stuff, but after that, then what? You’ve invested a lot, so you need to know since the very beginning how to make your financial plans for each quarter. By the first year, you’ll start to see if you have enough money to continue because you usually pay for things six months in advance. By the second year, you will already know if you should quit or not. By the third year, if you’re successful you should reach your break even and it’s really your fifth year before things are stable and you just need to rely on heavy marketing.”
In her animated way of speaking, she explains how designers are not only designers in Australia, but are also appreciated as artists, with their works considered art. Still grasping to understand why a Thai brand’s success is pinned on how many celebrities can be seen wearing them, Chitra adds: “After you find your own unique edge, everything else will follow. Don’t just follow what European designers did or feel like you need to be like Soda [a Thai brand] or whatever. If you don’t feel like it’s you, don’t do it.”
Chitra’s Closet’s flamboyance and carnivalesque colours may be a bit much for the Asian market, but the curvy-women market is what the designer is looking to expand into now that she’s back in Asia.
“There are women with big breasts and bottoms who want beautiful clothes that are chic and have character, not just generic clothes for large people.
"This market has purchasing power but nothing to buy and it’s like this all around the world,” the designer observes. With her forte being her expertise in creating fantastical clothes that accentuate and flatter the female curves, tapping into this particular market has been the right decision, one she made from the very start.
Today, the market may be packed with far too many options to even register, but Chitra believes that anyone can get to where she’s at, all with the same formula and a lot of hard work.
“If you don’t have a lot of money, going niche is always better. Every region in Australia has its own strong individuality and every suburb is different. You can only target one type of person there — quite like how a customer at Siam Square is not the same as a customer at Thong Lor.
"There are so many different niche groups: sexy whimsical, party whimsical or even just whimsical. It’s a market and unique point that you have to find for yourself.”
"The Look" project will be on display at TonTann Art Space and Gallery, TonTann Market in Khon Kaen, from March 1-5. For more information about the project, contact Chitra Mangma at 098-993-2377.
A past spring/summer collection from Chitra’s Closet.
Ora Clay by Orachat Surai features ceramics for those who believe in feng shui and fortune.
Peera by Peeradon Kontong is a tie-dye T-shirt collection, which makes use of skilled screenprinting techniques and contemporary Isan patterns as the inspiration of the prints.
