I was walking past Central World Plaza today and saw there was a bit of commotion, a large group of people, a few musical rhythms here and there; but what could it be for? I figured it was a press conference or a mini-concert, and then to my horror I made out the words ‘Fashion Week 2007’. Fashion week? Wait a minute. How many fashion weeks are there in a calendar year? Designers are having their work cut out for them with all of these miniature seasons that Bangkok seems to have acquired. There may not be many real meteorological seasons here, but when it comes to fashion, well, the city knows no bounds.

What is this obsession with fashion weeks? I understand the drive to make Bangkok a fashion hotspot, but really, wouldn’t the money be better off spent on something more worthwhile? Maybe a prosthetic arm for the girl whose life was ruined when she had it cut off by a policeman?

The latest extravaganza in the city is the Hi! International Fashion Week. Is this sort of thing that Thai people in and around Bangkok can even get anything from? Does it make their lives any better? There are still relatively few designers in Thailand, some would argue because creativity is not actively encouraged in many schools. I’d be all for supporting a drive to inspire children to utilize their talents for artistic purposes, fashion being one; but parading fashion show after fashion show really does nothing but place an end product there for a child to dream of without showing him the means through which this end product can be achieved.

To me, it seems like Bangkok is trying to run before it can walk without nurturing what could blossom into a thriving industry. You can’t just have a string of fashion weeks and call Thailand the fashion capital of Asia. As it is, Bangkok fashion week isn’t as productive as it could be.

Techno’ tags: Bangkok fashion week