Horizon Thailand interviews Siriorn Teankaprasith, founder of men’s fashion brand Painkiller, about her inspiration and the secret of her journey to become one of the most famous designers in Thailand.

Can you tell us the story of Painkiller?
The brand was established in 2005 during my final year of studying menswear at Esmod Paris. Each of my collections has a story behind it. It could be inspired by a book, my direct experiences from when I was studying in Paris, from travelling, arts or a diverse combination of cultures.

How would you describe the main characteristics of the brand?
Painkiller represents minimalism and romance yet in stylish fashion outfits. It’s not too masculine nor too feminine with just the right amount of design and details, making it ideal for everyday wear without being boring. It boasts modernity and the confidence of the wearer. Since Painkiller offers semi-formal attire, we find that the majority of our customers are from artistic fields, such as interior design, architecture and advertising.

What are your main export markets?
New York was our first export market but currently Japan is our biggest market. Other than that we have regular buyers from Singapore and Hong Kong. Chinese buyers have also expressed their interest in collaborating with us, but that’s still being discussed.

Can you share the key to your success?
Painkiller’s authenticity, attention to detail and quality are the keys to our success. We don’t mass-produce our items as we believe people look for something unique to distinguish themselves from the others. Some collections are limited edition. Apart from being well-designed, we still use traditional tailoring techniques. Our tailors cut and sew each piece with tight stitches making sure that we deliver high-quality items to our customers.

What has been your proudest work so far?
It’s the collection called ‘Best Friend’, which was launched in 2011. Inspired by a short story by M.R. Kukrit Pramoj called Mom, the collection featured Thai men’s image during the time of internationalization. It was a contemporary mix and match of Thai inspired cut blazers over traditional Oxford shirts paired with vibrant and colourful trousers. To me, think is very unique and classy, and conveys Thainess through the brand.

What are the strengths of the Thai fashion industry?
Apart from the availability of resources, we have people with talent and skills. Thai designers, especially the newcomers, are not shy to express their creativity and ideas. This has contributed to the growth of the industry.

What are your plans for 2015-2016?
Recently we launched another brand for mature customers so the plan for now will be to focus on finding new customers. We will try to get more Japanese buyers and hopefully will be able to conduct business with Chinese partners.

For more information, visit https://painkillerbkk.com