Slim, smart and ideal for organising those mustcarry items, Australian leather goods brand Bellroy recently made its Thai debut with a party at trendy coffee shop chain Casa Lapin.

The brand, which was born in Bells Beach, a coastal area near Melbourne that’s known for being surffriendly, offers a range of minimaliststyle leather accessories to make it easier to get through the day without carrying too much.

Richard Bolus, Asia sales manager for Bellroy, introฌduced the brand during the preview.

“Bellroy launched their first product in 2010 in Bells Beach, a coastal locality of Victoria, Australia. The name derives from the towns of Bells Beach and Fitzroy, Melbourne’s creative hub, which overflows with incredible art, brands and bars. The brand also reflects the perfect combination of the city and nature, resulting in its identiฌty and uniqueness. Bellroy puts its heart, soul and countฌless design hours into helping the world carry their essenฌtials with great simplicity and ease.”

Bellroy’s products, which are being distributed by DKSH Thailand, are divided in four major categories – slim leather wallets, work accessories, backpacks and tech cases including a slim phone case that doubles as a minimal wallet. Every product comes in a clean, minimal design combined with practiฌcal functions for urban lifestyle.

The campaign “Slim Your Bellroy” mirrors the identity of the brand, which aims to avoid being weighed down by the unnecessary.

“Baggage, bulk stuff slows you down, hinders your progress, and narrows your view. It makes ‘no’ easier to say than ‘yes’. But it doesn’t have to be that way. Bellroy exists to help the world move with simplicity and ease by streamlining silhouettes, eliminating excess and findฌing the precise balance between form and function in every piece,” Bolus says.

“We aim to help you get where you’re going quicker, with the things you need, not the ones you don’t. Our range has moved well beyond pockฌets and includes solutions for your tech, work accessories and more – right down to the humble set of keys. Our bags hold all of those things and let you transition through all the modes and moments in your life, seamlessly.

“Also we believe business can be used as a force for good, hence, we constantly pursue better ways to source our leathers, make our prodฌucts last as long as possible, aid animal welfare and reduce our impact on the environment.”

The full range of Bellroy products is now available at Siam Paragon and Mega Bangna.

FOUNDED IN 1953 by Ottavio and Rosita Missoni, the Italian brand that carries their name has brought a whole new meaning to high-fashion knitwear. Famous for its iconic multi-colour and zigzag patterns style, it is today run by Angela Missoni who serves as creative director and president. She dropped into Bangkok recently for the grand opening of the brand’s first flagship boutique at Central Embassy, which is also the largest Missoni boutique in Southeast Asia.

The new store covers more than 200 square metres and features the full range of women’s, men’s, kid’s and home collections in a space that welcomes customers with a warm rusty orange and grey interior.

Missoni joined up with Pranapda Phornprapha, director of Missi, the official importer and distributor, to host an exclusive party and took time out to chat with The Nation. Excerpts:

HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT COMING TO THAILAND?

I love it. I love travelling. I came to Thailand for the first time with my parents when I was a teenager, so 45 years ago. Since then, I have returned on holiday a few times and the opening of the boutique was an excellent excuse to come back! I think Thailand is an amazing destination and we have a lot of expectations.

CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT THE BRAND’S

HERITAGE AND HOW THAT HAS TRANSLATED TO TODAY?

Missoni is now 66 years old. I think it is one of the oldest that is still working actively and with the same family at the helm. Many other old brands have been reinvented and recreated but Missoni is still the same. I was very fortunate that my mother asked me to do the first line. Basically, she gave me her job. My parents invented the style that I refer to as our language. My duty is to update the lexicon or the vocabulary and that is what I constantly doing. I was lucky that I witnessed everything as the child. I was growing up while the label was growing up. The fact that I remember everything, every detail of the dresses, zips, buttons, and so on means that I never need to look at the archive. I always look to new projects. My mind is like a “mood board”, always looking forward to what I will do and what I will introduce.

How about your daughters?

We have a lot in common – myself, my mother, Margherita and my younger daughter, Theresa. We share the same sensibility and curiosity. If you see my mother’s house, my house, and Margherita’s house, you would recognise the links even though all three of us have very strong personalities. We share the same appreciation and curiosity and the design heritage my mother has passed down to us.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE KNITWEAR STYLE?

I would say the pieces that I create and I like to wear. As soon as I start creating the collection, I look at the best way to achieve the soft tailoring and the cut. I started the trench and I can wear it as an outer piece on top of trousers and skirts. It’s so easy to travel in and to dress up. If I had to pick one item I still wear today, I would say the trench. Last year I saw Meryl Streep presenting an award for a movie and she was wearing the trench I designed 15 years ago, which is my favourite. It’s interesting that everybody keeps certain Missoni items and, if you are lucky, that original size will still fit.

WHAT KIND OF KNITWEAR IS MOST SUITED TO A HOT CLIMATE LIKE OURS?

I have brought the finer yarns to make knitwear very light. What my mother wanted to do was create knitwear that would stun people in a certain way. She wanted a vertical stripe that a machine couldn’t produce so they just made it as fabric and then cut and sewed. Today, a lot of our collection is based on fabrics that are cut and sewn. Advanced technology can do many things and so it is very important to do research in knitwear just as we do with running shoes for Adidas. I have made lots of improvements with the finest yarns. Knits make travelling very easy. There are never any wrinkles.

IS THERE A CERTAIN RULE ABOUT MULTI-COLOUR MATCHING?

It’s all to do with sensibilities. I hope that when people come into the store, they can appreciate the look. First of all, learn not to be scared of colours and to wear patterns. Little by little, you learn to be confident, and realise that in fact colours make you feel good and really influence your mood.

AS A HIGH-END DESIGNER BRAND, WHAT CHALLENGES DO YOU FACE FROM FAST

FASHION?

I have no problem with fast fashion. We produce all our fabrics and it is a long process –we are really an artisanal company. So, I’m not worried a bout that. With Missoni we are very special and customers know that our prints and patterns come with the highest quality.

WHERE DO YOU FIND INSPIRATION?

I find inspiration in everything I see. I feel like I’m working like a filter! What I see, I translate into the cloth.

WHAT DOES BEING AT THE TOP OF ITALIAN DESIGN MEAN TO YOU?

That more is less. My parents pushed us to do many things when we were kids. We didn’t expect to work in the company but my father was very pragmatic, very special. That’s why they were so revolutionary in creating knitting and this brand. My father has never wanted to expand the company, he said we might make more money but we would have to work more and wouldn’t have time to spend the money. My father was very Mediterranean, he didn’t want problems. The more you own, the more you have problems. So less is better. I love my job and, yes, I work a lot but I try to keep my time balanced. When I go home, I go home, and I’m lucky that my parents built the company in a place they would love to spend their weekends. So the factory and the headquarters are up in the hills, surrounded by the forest. I live five minutes from there. Now my daughter’s family live around there too. So everybody is there, it is really a special place. We all go home for lunch, even in the middle of a working day. My parents made us appreciate this kind of life.

A SPECIALIST in high-tech ceramic watches, Swiss watchmaker Rado is known as the “Master of Materials” and recently showed why it has earned this moniker with a small exhibition at the Thailand Creative and Design Centre that showcased the integral parts of the watch, including the movement, the dial and the spherical ceramic beads.

The “Rado Novelties 2019” party, which also celebrated the launch of its new 2019 collection, was hosted by Hakim El Kadiri, vice president for product management and Tipanat Lenbury, country manager of The Swatch Group Trading (Thailand), which distributes the brand. The exhibition, meanwhile, presented the genesis of the watch-making process by displaying raw materials that are then transformed using innovative processes and shone the spotlight on the limited-edition timepiece DiaMaster Prajun designed by Kwankao Svetavimala, the only Thai designer to partner with the brand. Rado also took the opportunity to formally introduce actress, Natapohn “Taew” Tameeruks as the first Thai “Friend of Rado.”

The exhibition showcased revolutionary material that goes back to the birth of high-tech ceramic technology as well as the latest Ceramos technology, the new and most complex material to date. Alongside was the 2019 collection that includes more than 40 models being shown in Thailand for the first time. These included the Captain Cook and Golden Horse timepieces from the Tradition Collection, as well as limited-edition pieces from the True Thinline Collection, among them the True Thinline My Bird from Russia, the True Thinline Studs from England, and the True Thinline Gem from Spain.

In pride of place was Thai designer Kwankao’s limited-edition DiaMaster Prajun. For this model, the 35 mm case is made from plasma high-tech ceramic and houses the high-quality Swiss automatic ETA C07 movement with extended 80-hour power reserve – making it the first DiaMaster of this size with an automatic movement. The sapphire crystal case back offers a detailed view of the specially decorated movement. In another first for the DiaMaster, the bezel has 60 Top-Wesselton diamonds – a spectacular complement to the minimalist, scratch-resistant plasma case. Sapphire crystal also protects the dial, which is an Open Heart design covered with a very thin layer of white mother-of-pearl to give the impression of the waxing and waning moon. Five diamonds on the dial add an extra celestial twist.

The mother-of-pearl effect continues on the grey python-effect calf leather strap. The DiaMaster Prajun Limited Edition comes with an additional black python effect leather strap.

“I feel honoured to work with a world-class brand like Rado for the second time,” said Kwankao, who took part in the brand’s 2018 fashion show.

“Rado Switzerland invited me to be a part of its ‘Designer Collection’ project, in which the famous watch brand partners with designers from all over the world. After a full year of working together, I know understand watches in much greater depth. Every part has its importance, spanning from the materials selected to the movement and all parts of the watch. Its entirety accounts for the value and worth of the watch. For the DiaMaster Prajun, I wanted to design a watch that can be worn both day and night and fits every occasion, and look simple yet luxurious.”

The event ended with the announcement of the Rado Star Prize Thailand 2020 project in partnership with Creative Economy Agency (CEA), which aims to find new designers who will then receive support from Rado. The 10 finalists will have a chance show their work at Bangkok Design Week 2020 with the winner receiving the Rado Star Prize Thailand 2020 along with a cash reward and a watch from Rado.

With diversity at the core of the designs, the new range can be worn with any working outfit and suits every occasion in life. The popularity of the brand was evidenced by the large turn-out of celebrities to the launch event at Peacock Alley of the Waldorf Astoria Bangkok.

Panuwat Supmaneeanan introduced the collection, which uses white gold to frame clusters of diamonds in various shapes and sizes in rings, necklaces, bracelets, earrings and brooches.

The ring, for example, contains diamonds in Oval, Round Brilliant and Heart shapes. Another option is made with Oval Diamonds, Round Brilliant Diamonds, Marquise Diamonds, Pear Shaped Diamonds and Princess Cut Diamonds, all brought together in one design.

The earrings boast clusters of Marquise Diamonds, Round Brilliant Diamonds and Emerald Cut Diamonds in various sizes, decorated with Pear Shaped Diamonds and Round Brilliant Diamonds to add dimension to the ears.

The necklace is articulated with various shapes of diamonds also in cluster style and features Pear Shaped Diamonds and Round Brilliant Diamonds, or Oval Diamonds, Emerald Cut Diamonds, Pear Shaped Diamonds and Marquise Diamonds.

The bracelet consists of Pear Shape Diamonds in various sizes, Round Brilliant Diamonds, and Marquise Diamonds. The brooch too is made with diamonds in various shapes.