Issue 47

 

 

Leading Thai fashion entrepreneurs showcased their projects at BIFF & BIL 2016 this March under the title of Bangkok Fashion Cluster.

Supported by the Department of Industrial Promotion (DIP) and the Institute for Small and Medium Enterprises Development (ISMED), a collection of 42 fashion companies have revived the Bangkok Fashion City campaign, that was dropped in 2006. Now called the Bangkok Fashion Cluster (BFC), it is open to Thai manufacturers in the fashion industry.

“As a group, we have been trained and advised by ISMED not only to develop our products and create a collection that reflects the identity of each group, but to learn how we could adjust ourselves to work together in the global market,” explains Molee Maneechot, managing director of Maneesilp. The company has been selling handmade leather shoes both in Thailand and overseas in places such as Milan and Lausanne for 25 years.

Sakchai Boonyanusith, of traditional Thai silk manufacturer Taew Thai Silk, says that BFC is a private sector collaboration aiming to implement a practical approach to Thailand's fashion industry. “Group members can share their knowledge of anything from raw materials to methods and techniques with one another,” he says. “This will help broaden our perspective and creativity. We can add value to each other.”

According to DIP, Thailand’s fashion industry was worth over 620 billion baht (approx. US$17.5 billion) in 2014 showing a continuous growth of around 4% to 5%. Within five years the market value of the fashion industry in Thailand is expected to reach a trillion baht or US$28 billion.

Boonyanusith adds that the project is meant to showcase the industry’s creativity to an international audience as well as share new approaches.
“For example, some have said that silk is for luxury clothes only. But if we talk about the word ‘fashion’, this is wide open to design and creativity. Silk is a material able to be adapted to shoes, bags or other items,” he says.

The plan is to take BFC products overseas, such as to the Takashimaya Mall in Singapore and Super Brand Mall in Shanghai.

“We will select the brand that is ready for export,” says Maneechot. “BFC members should make their products suitable for both domestic and international trade fairs.” He adds that many international fairs require products to be registered with the Ministry of Commerce, and for the brand to be copyrighted. “Entrepreneurs who want to enter the global market need to learn and get it right,” he says.

Maneechot believes that members should behave like supporting partners. “We compete in terms of quality, not price” he says. “Then we could grow sustainably.”

Information courtesy of the Department of International Trade Promotion (DITP)

Words by Natthinee Ratanaprasidhi