Chompoo's creative cuts

Superstar Araya “Chompoo” A Hargate loves to challenge her artistic abilities. She’s acted in movies and television, played the lead in a musical, hosted TV shows and paraded on the catwalk.
Now she exercises her design skills by collaborating with Thai fashion brand Vatanika. Her fashions, released as a limited collection under the name Araya x Vatanika, make their debut at Siam Paragon today and will be displayed at the luxury mall until Wednesday.
Vatanika dresses are a favourite with superstars and celebs and Chompoo is no exception.
The actress tells The Nation that she thoroughly enjoyed the collaboration.
“This is the first time for me as a designer for a proper and official collection,” Chompoo wrote in an email.
“Of course, it is difficult as I am still new in this role and it is totally different from my acting career. Fortunately, Prae (Vatanika) has always been there showing me where to start and which direction to take, so it has become one of the most exciting things I’ve ever experienced.”
The collection features just 20 looks ranging from elegant evening gowns, sexy lace cocktail dresses, colourful party jumpsuits and casual printed shirts that look great with loose pants.
“This is a very refreshing collection and is a perfect blend between Chompoo’s character and Vatanika’s signature and craftsmanship,” says Vatanika Patamasingh who graduated from Central St Martins and London College of Fashion.
“The inspiration for Araya x Vatanika came from the experience we have gained while travelling through Europe. The culture and architecture inspired us in designing and developing the work in this special collection,” Vatanika explains.
The brand’s signature print techniques also appear in this collection. The graphic images are inspired by street art, European-style architecture motifs, sculptures, painting. The brand had created three special prints; Cotton Candy, Marble, and Kraken Je T’aime based on cupid sculptures, the golden motifs of classical European architecture and street wear. These prints are presented on most of items in this collection. The colour palette mainly focuses on sweet pastels such as cream, mint, and pink.
While Choopoom concentrated on the design, Vetanika took care of the sophisticated patterns and tailoring.
The collection is rich in textures with the designers combining soft fabrics like silks and lace with thick fabric like satin. Imported French lace, Italian silk, organza and cotton are also featured with the mix of different fabrics creating silhouette effects.
The sexy v-necked playsuit is made of cream French lace with Italian silk and balloon short sleeves made of organza. A black silk short blouse is matched with a sculptured knee-length printed skirt in cream for a more sophisticated look. Printed and plain jumpsuits are great for more casual wear while the mini black lace dresses are classic for both night and day.