I had the most incredible morning yesterday. I may have actually felt a tear come on once or twice such was my unutterable pleasure. You see we were taken to an exhibition of
Queen Sirikit of Thailand's outfits. And these are spectacular. At least half of them made by
Pierre Balmain in Paris. That was probs when I first wept. Just seeing his designs in real life.
Using fabrics that she sourced locally from across the land, creating job opportunities and sustainable industries where there were none before, she created a new fashion identity for Thailand in the sixties. I may have wept again here. The exhibition was just so incredibly well curated.
Through researching carefully the national dress of Thailand before all citizens were forced to wear western dress in the early 1900s, Queen Sirikit devised eight looks that were to represent the national dress of Thailand and its women.
Four of these looks were day wear - pretty much what you see the air stewards wearing on Thai Air. And the other four were evening looks. So beautiful you can barley breathe just looking at the incredible detail and gold mesh and beading and fabrics so rich you could cry. So you do. I don't think I have ever been more inspired, more moved, more giddy at an exhibition. What an incredible privilege to have seen it.
