Cool guy in hot undies

Italian architect Paolo Giachi is doing his best to make Bangkok cooler this globally baked summer with some chill-out retail therapy at a shop called Disaya.

Opening at Gaysorn Plaza at the end of May, it will be the place to go for the sleek lingerie created by Disaya Prakorbsantisuk, whose been selling her frillies since 2004 as Boudoir by Disaya. The brand's name is now slimmed down to just Disaya, and the store has the moniker to match.

The shop has been designed by Giachi, an acclaimed Milanese architect who specialises in luxury retail products and just happens to be a long-time friend of Disaya and her brother.

Giachi has designed for such big names as Prada, Tod's, Louis Vuitton, Fendi, Pucci and Jimmy Choo. He says the challenge that a young Thai clothing brand like Disaya posed for him is matched by its global potential.

"For personal satisfaction, I love working with small shops - for the closer relationship," Giachi says. "This direct relationship with the designer usually produces better results in the end."

Giachi has already seen the Asian retail boom first hand, having spent five years designing shops for Prada in Hong Kong. In Milan he subsequently worked with Tod's & Hogan, concocting outlets for them around the world.

"I decided to set up my own company in Milan in 2002, but I still continue working for big brands," he says.

Giachi recently revamped a store on London's posh Bond Street for Smythson, which sells fancy stationery, devised a 24-hour shop for a big Las Vegas casino, and did a store in Milan for Bootelo, which deals in handmade footwear.

Relaxed in conversation and modest about his work, Giachi rejects the popular notion that globalisation has made everything in the world homogeneous.

"People often say that we're now one big world, all speaking the same language. I don't find this true in design. Each nationality is very unique when it comes to design.

"The British, as well as other Europeans, are very conservative. They don't want to try new things too much. I think it's good sometimes to be 'contaminated' by a new design idea. The Americans and Asians love to try new ideas."

Each time Giachi returns to Asia, he notices evolving tastes in the stores.

"The shops here aim to impress by using very different designs all the time, but with too many strong details, lots of light, colours and strong materials. In Europe people are more low-key."

Giachi has taken the new Disaya shop in the opposite direction from the Asian trend.

"I want this shop just to be like a designer store you might find in Milan, but not in Asia. I try to create a space that's a neutral, yet elegant box. This makes the items on sale the main actors in the store, rather than the shop and its architecture."

The next mission for Disaya, Giachi says, is lengthening her global reach.

"A fashion designer must not only grow locally but internationally, and I must admit this brand really has potential to expand around the world. This store will use local materials and skills as much as possible, but it will mix in some details from Europe, like 1940 and '50s furniture from Milan. I think it's good to mix cultures."

Something else that Giachi has noticed while touring the planet's shopping districts: Westerners aren't as passionate about shopping as they used to be.

"I've seen a strong recession in the desire to shop among people in the big cities, like London and New York. Those people don't need anything because they have it all. Now the retailers need other things to bring people into their stores, like new experiences."

That's one "recession" that hasn't swept Asia yet, Giachi says. People here still love to hit the stores, and he'd counting on that passion to still be rampant the next time he's in Bangkok for Disaya's opening next month.