Catwalk to the future

 Sailee Sarangdhar

SPECIAL TO THE NATION

 Students of the Chanapatana International Design Institute (CIDI) had a chance to flaunt their creativity at a recent art-thesis exhibition at Siam Discovery, beginning with a fashion show.

 Founded in 2000 by Phra Tepjetiyajarn, the abbot of Wat Dhammamongkol, the CIDI encourages young Thai designers to harness their talent and make it known to the world.

 A non-profit organisation that operates in conjunction with top Italian design institutes, the CIDI offers diplomas in interior, product and fashion design based on two years' study in English.

 The curriculum requires the students to publicly show their work every year.

 At Siam Discovery, Italian Ambassador Ignazio Di Pace presented all-expenses-paid scholarships to Panuwat Thunyacharoen and Suthinna Lertsukprasert, enabling them to study in Italy for a year.

 "This is the experience of a lifetime for me - I never had a proper job before I joined CIDI," Suthinna said.

 "I worked as a teaching assistant to be eligible for the scholarship, and I'll be leaving to take my third year of fashion design at the Academia Italiana.

 "The Thai fashion scene is improving greatly," she noted. "We now see more people being fashion conscious, and more exposure being given to work by Thai designers."

 With the inspiration for this year's fashion show the Seven Deadly Sins - lust, gluttony, greed, sloth, wrath, envy and pride - the parade began with 10 outfits from the spring-summer collection of CIDI's Beatrice "Ajarn Bianca" Scheer.

 The concept came from a hot summer day, so the collection included dresses made of light, breezy and transparent materials in orange and light brown.

 More solid materials followed, in dark brown and cream, incorporating more masculine articles like trousers and jackets, most adorned with buttons but with flattering cuts and silhouettes.

 Up next were 10 looks created by the institute's first-year students. Making use of the same inspiration as their seniors, one or more of the seven sins were personified in each outfit.

 The students themselves created the prints used in the outfits, all of which presented strong points of view and displayed great potential.

 The main event was the work presented by 30 senior students, a total of 70 outfits that seemed to represent the future of Thai fashion.

 These were avant-garde mini-collections, each distinct in terms of individual points of view and design aesthetics.

 Boonwaree Verasophon's "Through the Eyes of an Envious Heart" collection made use of contrasting and eye-catching colours and transparent layering. Tight-fitting bodices paired with layered skirts of transparent material in combinations like turquoise and purple.

 The recurring eyes and hearts motifs were cleverly incorporated into the design details to validate the interesting title given to the collection.

 Another interesting collection was "Dead is the New Alive" by Jira Pianskool, who mixed the spiritual hues of Hinduism and Buddhism with modern shapes.

 The collection combined red, yellow and saffron to create long, breezy dresses, tops paired with draped leggings and lightweight hooded jackets. The models carried skulls on ropes, while rib cages and vertebral columns were slung over their chests like necklaces. The look was completed with high-top sneakers.

 "Love, Lust and Trust" by Naruemon Thamsatien clearly hinted at the designer's good sense of humour. The collection consisted of several bridal ensembles with whimsical twists like whips and fluffy handcuffs as accessories.

 There was also a man's outfit in the same quirky tone, combining a tailored jacket with shorts. There was a definite Alice in Wonderland feel to the collection, which on close inspection was quite luxurious, making use of satin, net lace and chiffon.

 The students' effort and personal vision were apparent in every piece shown.

The creations were beautiful, edgy and original, suggesting the local design scene has much to look forward to. Some of the names are sure to shine in the future, both domestically and internationally.