In the fashion calendar, the coming of a new season means another fashion week to look forward to. In Thailand, Elle Fashion Week is regarded as one of the biggest such shows in Bangkok, hosted by Elle, the world's leading fashion magazine. During the four-day Elle fashion week, fashionistas and industry insiders will pack Bangkok runways to see fresh new collections from the best Thai designers — Greyhound, Milin, Asava, Vatanika and Painkiller to name just a few.
The young fashion enthusiasts recruited to join the 'Designer's Think Tank' project.
Apart from the presentation of the latest collections, for the upcoming Elle Fashion Week for autumn/winter 2015 this September, Post International Media, publisher of Elle Thailand, has teamed up with the Department of Industrial Promotion (DIP) to come up with the "Thai Touch – The Integrated Fashion Project" campaign aimed at offering selected young Thai designers a chance to share the stage and present their collections to the public.
The campaign is the first collaboration between the Department of Industrial Promotion and Post International Media, with the "Designer's Think Tank" project as the first stage of the whole campaign.
Greyhound Original.
The "Designer's Think Tank" began in May with the recruitment of 30 young fashion enthusiasts. They were selected from over 200 candidates to join a four-day, three-night design workshop in which a team of top Thai designers led by Bhanu Inkawat of Greyhound, Ek Thongprasert of Curated, Polpat Asavaprapha of Asava, Nat Mangkang of Kloset, Teerut Wongwatanasin of Vickteerut and Siriorn and Phumisak Teankaprasith of Painkiller coached and trained each individual on design and marketing.
During the "Designer's Think Tank" session, each participant had to create a special piece that represented their identity and creativity through the use of 100% locally-made materials. Their designs will then be showcased on the stage as part of the upcoming Elle Fashion Week Autumn/Winter 2015.
"Business without a move is a business with a step backward," said Bhanu Inkawat, executive creative director of Greyhound Group. "To understand and be successful in the fashion business involves many factors and one very important aspect is to know the market situation — not only the Thai market but the global market, which are now highly competitive.
"Each and any brands need to find their own identity and uniqueness to stand out in the market. Customers are king and they have plenty of options to choose from — not only the design but also the price, quality and even distribution channel. You need to know your customer well enough not to lag behind them."
Nat Mangkang, designer of Kloset, added: "I've seen high potential in each of the contestants, not only the two that I personally trained but everyone even before the session started.
"Everyone has their own different thoughts, ideas and specialities which make them unique from each other and that's the hardest part if you need to pick just one person. However, this is all a good sign. It means that the new blood doesn't have a shadow of any big brand behind them. When we see new Thai designers have such potential to bring new thing to the market, support is a must."
At the Elle Fashion Week Autumn/Winter 2015 at CentralWorld, Bangkok's leading designers will present their special collections at the "Thai Touch Ultimate Showcase" runway, alongside some outstanding works selected from these 30 young talents. The rest of the designs from these fresh faces will also be on display at the fashion week for media, bloggers and buyers from all over the world to see their talents, which can be developed for the future — demonstrating the great potential of the Thai fashion industry.
Painkiller.
Bhanu Inkawat of Greyhound coaching one of the young designers.
Phumisak Teankaprasith of Painkiller advising his student on design.
Designer Polpat Asavaprapha of Asava gives a talk on marketing.
Learning about locally-produced materials.
