NEW GENERATION SHOPPING

Bangkok has never looked so good. From socialite parties at hip hotels to arty gatherings at downtown clubs, everyone, it seems, is dressed to kill. Thanks to a bevy of globally conscious shopping complexes, Thais are moving to the rhythm of the 21^stcentury in Milanese gowns, funky New York denim and sensational fashion creations from the new generation of Thai designers.

While some of the new stores have imported the mega mall models popular in the US, others favour European and Japanese inspired boutique concepts. And, although fashion accounts for some 30% of Bangkok retail space, other sectors are also benefiting as shopping becomes progressively more sophisticated.

The modern branding manifesto dictates that people no longer nip out for just a pair of shoes; they embark on a lifestyle adventure in which they shop for a carefully orchestrated ensemble — mixing and matching clothing, fashion accessories and jewellery. Then they grab a book on stylish interiors and dip into it over lunch at a chic coffee house. Later, they catch the latest blockbuster movie. All in the same building.

Bangkok’s newest mega mall is Siam Paragon, a 15-billion-baht project with 250 stores in a 500,000 square metre space that would take days to fully explore. And that’s not counting its department store, supermarket, cinemas, convention and exhibition centre and 30,000 marine creatures in Siam Ocean World, a living underwater theatre that claims to be the largest aquarium in the southern hemisphere.

Siam Paragon’s gigantic windows proclaim Hermès, Chanel, Versace… like a catwalk of global chic, and once inside, shoppers browse Cartier jewellery, check out Ferraris in the Auto Gallery and run their fingers through the latest silky Armani weave. By 2007, the complex will have added a Broadway-style theatre, landscaped gardens, and by 2009, a five-star hotel and luxury serviced apartments typical of a now common cross-pollination between retail and residential real estate.

Siam Paragon is a joint venture between Siam Piwat (owners of the neighbouring Siam Center and Siam Discovery) and The Mall Group, who own The Emporium. These four shopping centres, together with Gaysorn, Erawan Bangkok and Central Chidlom, form a virtual luxury shopping street linked by the capital’s state-of-the-art SkyTrain system. One stop further down is Soi Thonglor, an affluent residential area containing many of the city’s modish boutique stores, inspired by the likes of Colette, in Paris, and led by the uber-trendy Playground.

The new BTS SkyWalk — a covered walkway above the traffic — enables shoppers to conveniently stroll from Siam Paragon, Siam Center and Siam Discovery to Gaysorn, Erawan Bangkok and Central Chidlom. It offers opulent variety in a single downtown stretch that stakeholders hope will have a similar appeal for shoppers as Singapore’s Orchard Road.

The initiative and funding for the SkyWalk came from the Ratchaprasong Square Trade Association (RSTA), a groundbreaking partnership between hotels such as the Grand Hyatt Erawan and Intercontinental and retail traders located in the Chidlom station area.

Association secretary Fafuen Temboonkiat says, “We set out to improve the local environment, infrastructure and facilities. We work together on sales, a food festival in October and organise Bangkok’s New Year Countdown, which is reminiscent of New York’s Times Square.”

The association’s major retail members are Gaysorn and the Erawan Bangkok. Charn Srivikorn, chairman of Gaysorn Property Management, says, “We are 100% luxury. We only work with international brands. The Louis Vuitton outlet here is one of their few Global Store concepts in the world and Prada is a flagship store with full men’s and women’s lines.”

Thai designers like Thakoon Panichgul, whose elegant creations appeared in last year’s Fall Collections at New York Fashion Week, are increasingly making their mark around the world, and some of the best have outlets in Gaysorn.

“We work with the Thai brand association, of which Greyhound is the leader,” says Charn. “But the Thai brands we have are only those that go global, such as Fly Now, Senada and Stretsis; those you would see at Bangkok Fashion Week, but also on the Milan catwalk. And for all these, we carry the upper range rather than just the commercial.”

As Gaysorn’s partner in the RSTA, Erawan Bangkok, according to Assistant Vice President of Marketing and Communications Seri Sirinopwongsagon, strives to “complete not compete” with its neighbour. It therefore pitches its 42-outlet space at the middle market, with a three-pronged range of dining, health and beauty and international fashion, including a multi-brand outlet from Club 21, which among others imports Paul Smith, Helmut Lang and DKNY.

Bangkok’s rapid expansion of shopping options is partly the result of global brand advertising and celebrity lifestyle features on cable TV and an influx of international magazines such Cosmopolitan, Elle and Harpers Bazaar. Allan Namchaisiri, head of marketing for Central Retail Company, says this has “spurred an awareness of a lifestyle-driven existence, of grooming and a better quality of life” that complements Thailand’s rising standard of living.

It’s apt, then, that Central, which started as a Chinatown magazine store in 1948, originally found the inspiration to diversify in the pages of the foreign magazines on its news stands. Their flagship store Central Chidlom is now packed with extravagant global imports.

“We’re a stand-alone department store, like Harrods, developing our own merchandising rather than renting retail space,” says Allan. Their open multi-brand display spaces recently enjoyed a 700 million-baht renovation, and now include exclusive lines from Charles Jourdan, Jurlique and Vivienne Tam, a Chanel make-up studio with visiting make-up artists, and a new ‘Denim Bar’ with high impact names such as Rifle, Gsus and Mooks.

Central is a key player, along with Siam Paragon, in added-value customer services like relaxation lounges, baby changing rooms, free delivery and even ‘personal shoppers’ who act as style consultants as you browse around the store.

The shopping trip as total lifestyle experience has been enhanced at The Emporium recently by the addition of the Thailand Creative and Design Center, which along with exhibitions and conventions, boasts Asia’s largest design library. The mall itself, meanwhile, has had a 500 million-baht facelift by designers who worked on Printemps and Galeries Lafayette, in Paris.

Bangkok’s boutique approach to modern retailing is epitomised by Playground. Thongchai Busrapan, executive vice president of Noble Development , the project developers, describes it as “a concept store, whose strength is that everything is aimed at one target group — younger people.”

Consequently, the open plan building strips away the ostentation traditionally associated with style and wealth in favour of a less-is-more approach of exposed ceiling pipes and polished concrete. Here, shoppers relax on brightly coloured beanbags in the glass-roofed communal space, emphasising a youthful disregard for formality. The art gallery ambiance and Ikea style merchandising promote a consumer self-image of lap top-toting creative types who drive a Mini Cooper, read books on Warhol and debate art house movies over sips of espresso.

It’s all part of the global branding phenomenon epitomised by the likes of Ralph Lauren and BMW that creates emotional bonds and invites shoppers — even those not spending money — to buy into a lifestyle of aspirational luxury that says, in 21^st century Bangkok, you can be anything you dream.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Howard Richardson
Howard Richardson spent six years at Metro, Bangkok’s first city listings magazine, both as deputy editor and editor, and while there instigated and managed the Bangkok Best Restaurant and Nightlife Awards. Since 2002, he has worked as a freelance, contributing nightlife, food and other Thailand-related articles to international publications such as the Insight Guide to Bangkok, Fodor’s Guide to Thailand and Time Out Bangkok, Chiang Mai & the Islands. Howard also writes a monthly column and regular features for Sawasdee, the Thai Airways in-flight magazine. Previously, he was in North Africa, working at the Middle East Times and as editor of Egypt magazine.