Thai chic

BANGKOK — In October 2007, I had my first taste of Elle Fashion Week. I was fortunate to watch all shows including my favorite Thai labels Sretsis and Headquarter. Most of all I was blown away by the collection of Seksarit Thanaprasittikul who designs under the label, The Alchemists.

Seksarit’s collection was comprised of impeccably tailored jackets and long men’s shirts marked by unusual details and fastenings.

The following day, while waiting outside the tent, I spotted Seksarit and went up to him. After exchanging contact details, I placed an order from his collection. Mild-mannered and humble, Seksarit promised to keep me posted as soon as his collection was available.

It took a year before I finally received my first piece from The Alchemists — a black hoodie with two small side pockets and long belt strap on the waist. The first time I put it on, it was definitely worth the wait.

During my recent trip to Bangkok, I had a chance to interview him at GEO, the only store that carries his label.

Two years after his successful debut at Elle Fashion Week, Seksarit’s latest collection is all about “untidiness or an alternative attitude of menswear.”

“I personally like the works of Rene Magritte, the artist. There’s this one painting of his that struck me, a picture of a pipe but underneath it says: This is not a pipe,” Seksarit explains.

From this, he developed a concept of contradiction: What if a shirt has some other details from other pieces of clothes, like from trousers, would you still call it a shirt?

“Usually we are accustomed to wearing the inside smaller than the outside, like the shirt is smaller than the jacket.”

He contradicts this idea by making the shirt larger than the jacket or outerwear.

Black, white and navy are staples in his color palette. For the first time he includes grey and light blue.

“I normally like blue because it represents some kind of optimism, also Rene Magritte has some painting with the sky and I really like it, that’s why I used some of it, but only very little,” he says.

As for fabric, Seksarit prefers cotton because of Thailand’s hot climate.

Right now his collection is available at the GEO Store in Bangkok, a lifestyle and home store that carries a variety of goods ranging from gardening tools to fashion items or accessories that are locally designed and manufactured. 

When Seksarit finished his education in the Netherlands, he returned to Bangkok with zero knowledge about the local fashion industry. Luckily, an old friend who designs for Headquarter and works at GEO’s fashion department invited Seksarit to sell his collection at the store.

Seksarit confesses not a lot of people know the store even exists in Bangkok, but says its out-of-the-way location suits his personality and designs.

“When I try to describe my clothes, it’s like something that is really quiet or introverted or something not really provocative, popular or in the spotlight,” he said.

He loves to hear stories about how customers find their way to GEO to get his clothes. For him it seems more special that his clients are looking for something that can’t be found in a regular department store.

GEO is located at 912/3 Sukhumvit 55 Road, Klongton Nua, Wattana, Bangkok, Thailand. Tel: (+662) 3814324.