Among our neighboring countries, I like to think of Thailand as the progressive cousin of the Philippines. We have the same climate, same crazy traffic, and same variety of fruits (only theirs is sweeter).
The sad part is, almost every Filipino I know who has been there comes back with the same kind of sentiment—that of being in awe of their progress and frustrated at our being left behind.
As a fashion lover I could say the same if we compare their state of fashion with ours.
Ever since the ‘80s I’ve known that Thai fashion was way ahead of ours. One of my best friends in college was a Thai national named Joey who urged me to visit him in Bangkok during summers.
He opened my eyes to Thai designers like Soda, Theatre and Fly Now. Because of the unique fashion choices, Bangkok became my second favorite destination after Tokyo.
There’s a thriving fashion industry in Bangkok supported by local consumers who buy and wear their own. Long before Filipinos started wearing local designers proudly, Thais were doing it way back in the ‘80s.
Joey says the Thai government used to support the local fashion industry by sponsoring Bangkok Fashion Week for two years but without success.
Currently the shows are sponsored by big magazines like the Thai Elle, which does Elle Fashion Week twice a year, and Harpers Bazaar which also sponsors shows twice a year.
This October, Elle Fashion Week was held at a tent built outside Bangkok’s posh Central World mall, featuring sixteen designers in solo shows.
Attended by local press, design students, manufacturers, buyers and other fashion watchers, the venue was filled with fashionable Thais sporting Comme des Garçons, Margielas and sneakers mixed in with their local wares.