Akaravuth Pantumwanich is the Design Director at the Thai label iCONiC.
He’s showcased his collections on runways around the world and was even featured in “Vogue’s Who’s Next”, where he was the runner up.
Akaravuth also has a B.A. in Philosophy and Religion from the Kasetsart University in Thailand, which is very visible in the diversity of topics he approaches in his designs, without losing the commercial and practical aspect.
Discover our interview with him on business, inspiration and his background, which was first featured in the InCompany by Attire Club magazine.
How did you grow up? What did you want to become when you were little?
Akaravuth Pantumwanich: I was born in a family of people who manufactured garments for export. My mother in fact has a small clothing manufacture. This way, as I grew, I learned about clothes and fashion. I guess this was the first inspiration for the iCONiC brand.
How did you grow up? What did you want to become when you were little?
AP: I firstly learned a lot about making clothes by helping my mother make them for her customers from all over the world. This made me learn not only about how to make garments, but also about what customers want. This way, I also discovered that people have different tastes from culture to culture and how to adapt to them. I started thinking about having my own clothing brand: how they would look, how they would feel. I then began to study fashion design very seriously and after graduating from university I started making a plan to create my own fashion label.
What are your go-to places to find inspiration?
AP: Designing a collection starts with paying attention to everything that is happening around me. I like to travel to places that remind me of my childhood. I like the art and the culture of those places, but I also like their glamour if I may say so. I take the elements I like and mix them up with the current trend. I also take a close look at my clients. I call my client the “iCONiC Girl”. It is important to me to know what my clients want, what they do and so on. Once I break it down conceptually, I can translate it on paper.
How would you describe your design aesthetic?
AP: My work is designed to reflect on the emotions of women. It’s about when one feels happy: what were they happy about in the past, what are they happy about now? We use shapes and details to express those things. Our prints are key to our designs: I think it’s an easy and effective way to communicate something in a way that most people will make sense of it. We use patterns and colors to tell the stories we want to tell. iCONiC is all about small details such as special tailoring or sewing techniques differentiate our clothes from others.
How do you balance the commercial-artistic balance with your designs?
AP: The collections I make are not made to be a reflection of me, but of the wearer and of who the wearer is, what her identity is. Identity is the most important thing in fashion nowadays. Before making a collection, we analyze everything about our clients. We record customer information details and make statistics about our customers and talk to them about their preferences all the time. This is the basis for each collection. This is how we bring new, exciting and great clothes for the iCONic Girl season after season.
Who are the people who wear iCONiC?
AP: When it comes to the iCONiC Girl, there are three main pillars that describe her: femininity, dreams and the fact that she’s a bohemian girld with a twist. The iCONiC girl is a young woman who has fallen in love with art and culture and has a passion for traveling in the dreamlands of her childhood. A thing that is important to the iCONiC girl is positive thinking and this is always reflected in our clothes. Our customers like whimsical colors and patterns and details that reflect their identity.
How would you describe the Thai fashion scene?
AP: When I think of Thai fashion, I think of color and fun. Thai people are good at using color in my opinion. Colors are relevant when it comes to the Thai fashion world because they symbolize our country of smiling and friendly people. Another thing that comes to mind is the Thai craftsmanship. There are many great Thai designers.
You have been the first runner up of Vogue’s Who’s On Next Thailand. What can you share about that experience?
AP: It was a once in a lifetime experience and a great honor for me. Everyone around the world considers Vogue to be the number one fashion magazine, so being selected and recognized by them was a great experience and recognition. It showed that if you believe in your brand and love your work, others will support it too.
I have to say a big “thank you” to Vogue for helping me learn that the fashion industry is not just about creating clothing; it’s also about design planning, business planning and advertising. Being a successful fashion label is not easy and the insights Vogue gave me on how to achieve that is more than the place I got in the competition.
What role do social media play in the development of your brand?
AP: I value online media very much. Today the world at large is spinning so fast and the world of fashion is the same. I am interested in all types of online communication, whether it’s our official Facebook page, our Instagram or even various chat groups. We use these to keep in touch with our fans and to reach our customers with great ease.
What are your favorite things to wear?
AP: Personally, I enjoy wearing simple clothes: t-shirts, jeans and sneakers. I often don’t care about dressing myself up. I like to keep it sporty, so that I can move easily. It’s important to me to dress in a way that allows me to do my work well. Also, I was born in the 1990s, so sports clothes are a big part of the things I grew up wearing.
What are you currently obsessed with, fashion- and otherwise?
AP: Currently, I am interested in sports and health. I like exercising and I think the iCONiC Girl is also interested in these things. Exercising made me see things in a new way, so you may see some new, dynamic and exciting things coming from iCONiC in the near future.
Thank you!
Fraquoh and Franchomme
P.S. We want to hear from you! What do you think of the brand iCONiC? How would you wear their clothes or see others wear them? What do you think of the commercial-artistic balance in fashion? Share your feedback, questions or thoughts in the comments below! For more articles on style, fashion tips and cultural insights, you can subscribe to Attire Club via e-mail or follow us on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram!