An NVU with Titipon Chitsantisook

Dear Shaded Viewers,

I met Titipon briefly on my one and only trip to Bangkok a few years ago for their fashion week. Greyhound was the collection that was the highlight of my Bangkok fashion week.

DP: Can you tell me about your collaboration with Greyhound? You started out as an assistant designer and then you did a collection for BRAND Grey?

Grey

TP: I used to work for Grey by Greyhound for 3 collections; its aim is to trade in the international market. I worked as an assistant designer for women’s wear, it was very great experience on a small team: a creative director, a men’s wear designer and me. I also learned a lot about communication and marketing as the company has been around for 25 years so they have a great management system.

DP: How did that come about?

TP: Good timing, after I won a Thailand fashion designer contest in 2005,
Greyhound wanted to open a new line and the creative director of the brand was on my jury.

DP: What was it like winning the Mercedes - Benz Asia Fashion Award, and the Thailand Fashion designers Contest both in 2005, that must have been a very good year? Also in 2004 you won The Third Fashion Design Contest in Korea and the Grand Prix Komatsu in 2004 in Japan. What do these prizes bring to you?

TP: I never studied fashion design before, I studied theatre and comparative literature, but I was always interested in fashion so I began by participating in fashion contests and was self taught. I went to university Monday to Friday
And spent my weekends learning pattern making plus assisting a designer every evening for 2 years. After I won a few prizes a lot of opportunities came my way. I also worked as a freelance designer for film and TV commercials. I approached all of the contests as a way to experiment with new ideas and to meet new people.

DP: What was the Hyeres experience like for you and did you stay in touch with any of the contacts?

TP: Hyeres was like a dream, I had been waiting to apply for a year after Sandra Backlund won, I never knew about this festival before. So I started to research and sketch and wait until it was time to submit my work to the contest. In my opinion I think Hyeres is the best platform to show and share your ideas.

After festival, I had an appointment with a headhunter (I can not say at the moment) also I plan to show in Belgium (not confirmed yet)
But the most important for me was the friendships that began in Hyeres, I feel very lucky to have met Titi Kwan and Matthew Cunnington.
And also my contact with ashadedviewonfashion.

DP: If you had to say the highs and lows of Hyeres what would they be?
TP: Highs - location, fashion people, conversations and genuine smiles.
Lows - There were no lows to Hyeres

DP: How did you make a skirt with 5,000 pieces of fabric, can you describe to me your approach to fabric in general.

TP: It was 50,000 pieces of wool not 5,000. I wanted to experiment with constructing a skirt without a specific pattern but to calculate one, I counted the hipline at 600 then the second line x1.5, which is 900, and the total was approximately 50,000 with every piece cut and sewn by hand.
I tried to find the way to re-value the fabric, how to give a simple fabric more value. This time I focused on handcrafting the garment on the simple geometric form.

DP: We spoke about you collaborating with a textile company so that your ideas could be translated in a way that would be less time consuming; did you speak to Swiss Textiles about that? Is it something that interests you?

TP: We spoke about some new techniques for wool pleating during the festival which was very interesting, and I hope I will have chance to develop more in the future.

DP: How many hours did it take to put together the 50,000-piece garment?

TP: The 50,000 piece skirt began from the idea of “never ending story” how to make a skirt that can make someone feel it’s not the end, even if it’s finished you can still feel that. I started cutting from the first week that I was informed that I had been selected and it took about one month, sewing took two weeks with two people working 12-hour days. It’s a little bit S&M in a way.

DP: Can you talk a bit about your concept about dressing in a way that does not reveal your social position or personal experience, what do you mean exactly about blurring the paradigms in creating ones own style?

TP: Today businessmen are no longer forced to wear suit to work.
There is no more working class, middle class or upper class.
Fewer stereotypes.
People have more freedom to dress; the word “identity” has changed which has allowed new ways to create style and poetic approaches in design.
I also found that the working methods could reveal the story behind them. “Liberating confusion” is my key, it may not be 100% clear at the moment but I keep developing that idea.

DP: Did you grow up in Bangkok? What was that like?

TP: I grew up in a small town “Buriram” near Cambodia.
My mum is a nurse and my dad works for the government, as a child I spent all of my time in hospitals and wanted to be a doctor. I have always been good at mathematics. I am an only child and moved to Bangkok to go to University and to work.

DP: You moved to Paris two years ago, to attend Institute Marangoni did you also go to IFM?

TP: I arrived in Paris august 2006 to study French at the Sorbonne and at the same time I applied to IFM but the institute was moving to a new location and the course was postponed until September 2008 that is when I attended Institute Marangoni. By the way, I quit Marangoni in order to work on my collection for Hyeres .

DP: What was that experience like?

TP: I found changing cultures and routines very interesting and going from working back to studying more relaxing. I think that timing is everything.

DP: When did you start your blog "from Bangkok with love?

TP: Actually “ from Bangkok with love “ is not mine; it belongs to a friend who likes Bangkok, Tobias, who graduated from IFM.

Mine is ttys.wordpress.com, I started in December last year, just to keep my friends updated and to have a platform to express my views.

DP: How much time do you spend in Bangkok and when did you move to Paris?

TP: I stayed in Bangkok 8 years for work and study.
I moved to Paris in 2006 and go back to Bangkok every 6 months.
I don’t know that I will base myself in Paris or move somewhere else.
But I found the world to be small and I plan to stay here till 2010 at the moment.

DP: What are you working on right now?

TP: I am doing the research for my next collection “ Royal de Luxe ”
Control & under-control, developing textile and playing with momentum and youth attitude.

I will fly back to Bangkok for production this summer.

DP: Where can someone order your clothes?

TP: Please contact me direct at boundforbangkok@hotmail.com

DP: Are you planning on showing a collection in Paris this fall?

Hyeres collection

TP: I would love to. But if I start I would like to continue, maybe only a presentation. It’s a question of finances after the Hyeres collection: Whatever I do ashadedview will be informed.

DP: What would your dream situation be?

TP: To work to build my own system maybe for my own House and for it to be focused and limited.

DP: How close are you to obtaining that?

TP: I am ready to work but waiting for right moment.

Later,

Diane