The current issue of Praew magazine has a terrific article by Her Royal Highness Princess Sirivannavari Nariratana describing her experiences during the Paris Fashion Week in October.

Written in diary style, it reveals her playful personality, which percolated among some of the fashion world's most famous names on her second trip to the City of Lights.

Her preparations, she writes, included reading "piles of information on the designers, fashion business, trends and people I was going to meet.

"I had to brush up on my English and French. I had to go to fitness centres [to get slimmer]. I needed a new hairdo [Sister Lek Katewadee]. I needed manicure care. I had to go to spas. Moreover, I had to design my own clothes. Most outfits I wore during Paris Fashion Week were the results of my own ideas, from head to toe. I worked on the designs of my corsets and boots."

Even a member of the royal family couldn't be sure if she'd get in to see the shows.

"Because it's so difficult to get tickets to this international fashion event, we had to plan everything well ahead. We had to be specific about the first name, surname and address of people who were going to be present at the event. We had to specify which shows we wished to see. After that, we were holding our breath."

Paris, the Princess concurs, is an amazing place, with wonderful tourist attractions and museums, and restaurants and cafes that she found "so chic and inviting".

"When I had free time and didn't have any appointments with friends, I would find my happiness in sipping coffee or chocolate at these places, relaxing and observing people."

She loves the Louvre and was blown away by Balenciaga, but if you love Asian arts and luxury exhibits, she says, Musee Guimet is the must-see place.

On the runway, the Princess admired the work of five designers - Alexander McQueen, Pierre Balmain, Jean-Paul Gaultier for Hermes, Karl Lagerfeld for Chanel and Antonio Marras for Kenzo - but it was the Viktor & Rolf show she found the most amazing.

The catwalk shows are a lot of fun, she writes, amused by the antics of the photographers covering them, jostling to reserve their places along the catwalk. They're tough, she says, but highly professional, and with high ethical standards.

"When I came across photographers who knew me I'd hear 'Princess? Princess?' and then - click, click, click. At first I was shocked - I didn't know how to pose or present myself - but I gained some experience last year and have been getting more confident and could answer the reporters' questions better."

The Princess says she was "determined to see the backstage life".

"I wanted to know what the designers had in their heads, what they had planned, how they gave orders to their teams, and how they found the right raw materials.

"All the gimmicks in the show, including the invitation cards, were exciting. These designers seriously competed, not just about clothes but so many other things under that pretext."

Princess Sirivannavari delved into the marketing aspect and talked to fashion editors about how they designed their magazines and wrote articles.

"It should be noted that Thailand has yet to recognise the fashion business," she comments.

The Princess will next year become the first Thai designer to participate in Paris Fashion Week. She's already started planning, and she's not secretive about what she's working on.

"I plan to modernise Thai silk by combining it with fabric from the West," she writes, and then surveys what lies ahead.

"Now we have to think about how to make Thai designers famous around the world. I am among fashion designers who want to see their collections on the Paris catwalk. I'm trying to urge people out there to invite other Thais to their stage too. I hope more Thai designers will come to this stage. We have to make this happen."