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Buoyed by government support, a local passion for style, and widely followed local runway shows, Bangkok is fast becoming an Asian hub for design and fashion.
Once (and in parts still) mainly a youth culture destination, Siam Square is very much the local centre of this movement. It is possible to walk, window shop, and sample your way through dozens of stores in just one afternoon in this area, enjoying an excellent survey of what some call “New Thai Style.” Start in the air-conditioned shopping centres attached to the Sky Train (Siam station). In Siam Centre, the third floor has a lineup of fun boutiques: the wanderlust-inspired Fly Now III (the ready-to-wear label of the famous Thai couturier); the rock-and-roll attitude of Baking Soda (great for t-shirts); the whimsical Tube; and the street wear favourite Playhound, among others.
On the same floor, Theater does upscale takes on loose-fitting Thai linen garments, and Munchu's is an up-and-coming stop for women’s office wear. Attached by walkway is the Siam Discovery Centre, whose fourth floor hosts a clutch of interior design and product shops. Panta has won European design fairs for its organically-shaped furniture wrought from water hyacinth; Fai Sor Kam is a small shop that specialises in hand-made candles scented with local flowers like jasmine, ginger bud, and frangipani; and Mae Fah Luang is a royally-funded project connecting hill-tribe weavers to Bangkok design talent to make beautiful raw silk scarves, tops, and rugs with bright, modern colours mingling with bamboo weaving.
For great, low-cost accessories, it's worth heading into the winding alleys just across the street, stopping at two shops on the way: Issue for Tibetan- and Indian-inspired fashion with wild colours and a street-savvy edge you might see on the streets of London; and the quirkily named It's Happened to be a Closet, for vintage-inspired ready-to-wear in a shop that also includes ball gowns, a tiny cafe, a hair salon, and back issues of Vogue and Wallpaper through to the mid-1990s.
Fly Now III
Siam Centre, 3rd floor
989 Thanon Rama 1, Siam Square
+66 2 880 0831
Baking Soda
Siam Centre, 3rd floor
989 Thanon Rama 1, Siam Square
+66 2 252 2123
Tube
Siam Centre, 3rd floor
989 Thanon Rama 1, Siam Square
+66 2 658 1119
Playhound
Siam Centre, 3rd floor
989 Thanon Rama 1, Siam Square
Theater
Siam Centre, 3rd floor
989 Thanon Rama 1, Siam Square
+66 2 251 3599 |
Munchu's
Siam Centre, 3rd floor
989 Thanon Rama 1, Siam Square
+66 2 658 1134
Panta
Siam Discovery, 4th floor
989 Thanon Rama 1, Siam Square
+66 2 658 0415
Mae Fah Luang
Siam Discovery, 4th floor
989 Thanon Rama 1, Siam Square
+66 2 658 0424
Fai Sor Kam
Siam Discovery, 4th floor
+66 2 658 0449
Issue
266/10 Siam Square Soi 3
+66 2 658 4416
It's Happened to be a Closet
266/3 Siam Square Soi 3
+66 2 658 4696
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