
Roj Singhakul's runway shows are always eyepoppers, and he didn't disappoint last Sunday, commandeering the SF World Cinema for an autumnwinter fantasia with the same bravado that transformed Moon Star music studio a year ago and the AUA auditorium earlier this year.
French filmmaker Michel Oclot's animation "Azur & Asmar: The Princes' Quest" provided the inspiration for Roj's show in a cinema this time, and hitech lighting and projected imagery by fashion photographer Punsiri Sirivetchapun lent plenty of drama.
The stage was courtesy of the show's organiser, and Roj's longtime partner Brillian Conection.
The presentation was bigger than ever, packing the 700-seat theatre with fans whose gaze was riveted on the 40 models in fantasy outfits featuring architectural details and cartoonish flourishes.
Rather than joining in the show on the catwalk, the characters from Oclot's film undertook their journey right on the clothing material, in a collection dubbed "AnGravity Movie Runway".
There were three main sets of largescale outfits, each one ranging from casual printed Tshirts and bodyhugging denim to overcoats, Harlemstyle pants and elegant evening gowns.
Dramatic headdresses and long gloves were the main accessories.
Along with his usual nod to Islamic art and culture, Roj shared Oclot's visual fascination with French and Early Dutch painting and Persian miniatures and 16thcentury Safavid art.
Viewers joined Oclot's adventurous young heroes - blond, blueeyed noblewoman's Azur and darkskinned, darkeyed Asmar - as they reunited and sought to free the Djinn Princess.
Models bearing the children's characteristics set out in casual gear of navy blue, black and white with opart prints. There were loose tunics, minidresses, Tshirts, jackets, pants and even stockings.
The evening dresses that soon appeared bore graphic prints in navy blue inspired by Oclot's phoenix, which served as Asmar's protector.
The second set glowed with fiery red, the clothing items adorned with the face of a wild boar - Azur's guardian. He snorted from overcoats, bareshoulder evening gowns, Tshirts, suits and minidresses amid Roj's volumeboosting embroidery.
The models wore phoenix wings for the final set, with multiple colours sprayed out in print patterns. Winglike short and long jackets and winged evening gowns and short dresses prevailed.
The finale literally defied gravity as a supermodel alien in a phoenix minidress and long, black headdress soared across a dramatically lit backdrop.
Roj's clothing designs are always inspired by his travels to exotic places. We can't wait to see where he wanders next.