Audi Star Creation 2012 Winners: Q&A with Thailand's Soravit Kaewlamon, one year on!

The last interview of the three part series with Audi Star Creation 2012 winners (the other two are here and here) is with the boldest of all three: Soravit Kaewkamon from Thailand.

If you're familiar with the Bangkok fashion scene then you'd know that it is probably the most colourful and fun of all Asia. From prints to cuts and daring designs the Thai designers love to experiment and Soravit is no different.

After seeing her menswear winning collection, I'm looking forward to see the designer's complimentary womenswear collection which she will be showing at AFF next week!

So why did she switch to womenswear? Will it be as bold as the first one and what are her future plans? Find out this talented designer's answers below!

(P.S. I've giving away 5 pairs of tickets to watch the ASC winners show at AFF. Find out more on facebook).

5 emerging Asian designers to look out for

For decades, Europe and America have been the centre of the fashion world. While that’s largely true – the four most important fashion weeks do happen in the West after all – but that doesn’t mean that it’s only Western designers who are shaping the future of fashion.

Take a look at the rise of the Asian designer in the states, and the increasing number of designers from that side of the world muscling their way into London and Paris.

Even back in the day the likes of John Rocha (Hong Kong) and Jimmy Choo (Malaysia) were making sure the world was aware of Asia as a creative hub as well as a manufacturing base.

Over the past few years you have the more established lines of Jason Wu, Prabal Gurung, Vera Wang, Richard Chai or Alexander Wang all flaunting their Asian heritage all across the major fashion weeks.

Now the question has to be, where is the next generation of Asian designers coming from? Who is going to be the next big thing to hit the catwalks of London, Paris, New York and Milan?

Read on to have a look at my pick of five Asian designers to look out for and remember you saw it here first!

Yeashin Kim (S. Korea), Haizhen Wang (China) and Lionel Low (Singapore) are some
of the rising Asian designers to look out for!

Bonjour Bangkok: Wila’s quirky and whimsical prints

I have had a love affair with prints for longer than I can remember! So much so that if you open my closet, the majority of the pieces I own and cherish are those with unique prints. I just find it amusing what inspires a designer to develop a certain print and how the outcome relates to the initial concept.

While London is arguably THE capital for quirky prints– whether from established designers like Paul Smith, Alexander McQueen and Matthew Williamson to more recent upcoming labels like Basso and Brooke, Mary Katrantzou and Antoni and Alison – Bangkok on the other hand could as well be Asia’s prints capital.

The first label to ever catch my eye from the Thai capital is ISSUE – a label I absolutely adore for their unusual tribal-inspired prints. But as I visited lately, more and more designers seem to have followed in the footsteps of ISSUE and are coming up with cool designs which may as well look at home in London.

One such label is Wila, whose boutique I stumbled upon last summer while looking around Terminal21, the latest hip fashion destination in the city.

Owls and Alpaca! Cute and original prints are something BKK-based
Wila does to perfection!

Bonjour Bangkok: Keith & Kym's best of Thai accessories labels

One thing about Bangkok - which I’ve heard over and over again – is that it is a great destination for bargain shopping or shopping on a budget. The street markets, weekend market and countless blog-shop type places are everywhere to be seen and even with a budget of S$50, you’re guaranteed to get something (or three) that you like.

While this is absolutely true and definitely great – hey I’ve managed to score some bargains as well – it actually leaves out some of the best shopping in the Thai capital. That is, something totally unique, creative and more of an investment piece rather than fast fashion. This is especially true when on the look for Thai designers whose pieces might not go for S$10 a pop but are still reasonable and definitely worth every penny you pay for it.

But in a place like Bangkok, finding the original from the copy, the unique from the mass-produced is not easy especially when it comes to accessories. So if you’re a quality over quantity type of consumer and you like something extra special, ditch all the other places and head to one shop which has it all: Keith&Kym Gallery.

Original pieces like this stunning pendant from Thai label Sinturak and more are found
at Keith&Kym's gallery in Bangkok, Terminal21.

Love these statement pieces which you won't be finding anywhere in the street markets...

Bonjour Bangkok: Lynn Around keep it quirky and mainstream

Perhaps a great thing about Thai labels is that not only the small and independent ones that pride themselves on being funky and quirky.

  

Maybe it's something to do with the Thai attitude to dressing up, but it’s really refreshing to see the eccentricity not being designed out by committee when a brand becomes more mainstream. They're still waving goodbye to dull and pushing the boundaries with risky style statements.

One label which despite its size (It has around 10 outlets in Bangkok) is doing just that: Lynn Around.

I first saw their outlet at the never disappointing Thai fashion cathedral Terminal 21, where the vibrant colours and eye-catching looks pulled me in to inquire about the label (and ahem… shop).

Even in a somehow more 'mainstream' Thai label like Lynn Around, you can still find
some quirky stuff like these adorable pony hair loafers. Bangkok rocks!

The colours and variety of styles at their Terminal21 branch is so inviting.

Bonjour Bangkok: The end of the world at Nisa and Friends

One of the greatest joys I get from this blog is getting to discover kick ass new designers from Singapore and across south-east Asia.

There’s so much talent out there and nothing gives me greater pleasure than doing a tiny bit to help expose them to a slightly wider audience.

So it’s is no surprise that the highlight of my recent trip to Bangkok was stumbling over a humble genius, whose label and shop was launched just over a month ago.

Walking through one of the alleys of Siam Square, a tiny shop space crammed to bursting point with a rainbow of colourful printed scarves called out to me, beckoning me over by standing out from the rows of generic identikit clothes on offer.

The shop was called Nisa – and it was my immense fortune that one of the designers, Namwan (Sirintra), was inside and only too happy talk about her new baby.

This Ocean Symphony dress was my first pick... love it!!!

Bonjour Bangkok: 4 stalls not to miss at the weekend market – Chatuchak (Jatujak)

There is no doubt that one of the must do's on any trip to Bangkok is to spend the day losing yourself in the labyrinth that is the massive sprawl of Chatuchak Market.

But unless you love t-shirts and blogshops, the thousands of stalls in the massive weekend market could mean frustration rather than fashion heaven.

It takes patience, but amongst the rows and rows of cheap and cheerful are some genuinely talented young (and even established) Thai labels which sell really original and high quality items for you to wow your friends with.

Forget the tacky t-shirts and knick-knacks and use your time at
the massive weekend market to get your hands on these stingray beauties!!

Also head to Guate for some high quality and affordable leather
accessories, where you also get to watch the artisans handcrafting them!

Bangkok Frocks: Five must see labels from Thailand

When it comes to travelling I admit I’m obsessed with planning. Despite the availability of tour guides and internet sources, I always insist on making an hour-by-hour plan which ensures I see everything I came to see on my holiday.

While most of my planning is about sightseeing, I also like to have some sort of plan for the shopping part. Just to save time and make sure I don’t get led by well-meaning taxi drivers to overpriced touristy shops.

My planning skills are about to come to the fore when I go to Bangkok later this month. I’ll be accompanying my husband on a business trip, but he’ll be busy during the days. And that means one thing – a three day long shopathon!

I’ve compiled a list of boutiques and shops which I’m looking forward to visit on my trip. While this is not the full list, it is a snippet of what I’m looking forward to most. And experience taught me that as good as it is to have a pre planned itinerary, it’s always good to leave some time for what I do best – wandering around and discovering even cooler places by accident.

Kloset is high on my list of Thai labels to see when in BKK! Just love the
whimsical details...

Blueprint Singapore: 7 emerging labels to lust after

And so it’s over in flash. Singapore’s biggest week of fashion was over far too soon.

And despite the AFF shows stealing the spotlight last week, there was one event which I was very keen on attending: The Blueprint tradeshow.

Unlike the emporium, the tradeshow is not a place to shop but it’s a closed exhibition for labels and buyers to interact; and for emerging designers to bag some regional or international stockists which would help their labels grow.

As a member of the media (who got selected invites), I was present on Thursday and Friday and it was one of the most interesting events I’ve been to in Singapore so far. I got to discover and spot some amazing Asian and emerging labels which have all what it takes to be the next big thing.

New Indonesian label TOTON simply blew me away at Blueprint...
From clothes to accessories and shoes, every piece looked stunning!

Audi Star Creation Finalists’ Showdown and announcing the winners

After 6 weeks of posting twice a week interviews with the 12 finalists of Audi Star Creation, I was excited to finally see their sketches transformed to reality on the runway.

In fact as each collection came down the runway I felt as if I knew the designer and the clothing intimately.

But in the end it was a competition and there had to be winners and losers.

The winners were announced at the end of the show and they were Roderic Wong from China, Soravit Kaewkamon from Thailand and Ko Youngji from South Korea. And there was also a People’s Choice Award which went to Natalia Kiantoro from Indonesia.

Do they look familiar? If you've been reading the interviews
on this blog, then you've probably seen the sketches!

The winners of Star Creation: Ko Youngji, Roderic Wong andSoravit Kaewkamon  

Why I'm proud to be a B.A.D. girl

I have a confession to make. I'm a B.A.D. girl!

But it’s nothing to be ashamed of, and the reason I'm leaving the country for a couple of weeks has nothing to do with being kicked out. In fact, it's something I'm rather pleased about.

Because being a B.A.D. girl means I'm Backing Asian Designers. It's a new initiative to raise awareness of emerging local talents in the region and encouraging people to go out and shop local. 

B.A.D has been launched by Singapore-based website Shopthemag.com, the luxury e-commerce site bringing you the crème de la crème of Asian designers. From Thailand to Vietnam, India, Hong Kong, Indonesia and of course Singapore - the breadth of coverage is pretty impressive.

Among the Asian labels on shopthemag.com is the awesome Thai label
Second Issue (remember it here?) from which this gorgeous dress is.