“Black Is Dope” – Interview With Emergent Designer Laend Phuengkit

   ... Looking around in your flat, you seem to like books. Are they an inspiration to you as well?

  Very much so. Last night, I watched the current shows online. Sadly, I couldn’t see any examination with books or any other content at all in that collection. The way Madame Vionnet used to work, or Rei Kawakubo, old paintings that got forgotten in our fast moving, rational time, that’s what designers should study. Or read an interview with Wolfgang Joop; he’s smart and knows exactly what he wants. Fashion is theory, not just an optical occurrence.

  It is obvious that there is a concept behind your collections. What do you criticise with your creations?

  I criticise high street. H&M and company destroy the whole pricing system and everything is getting copied, even young designers.

  So you don’t consent to the democratisation of fashion?

  It’s legitimate to a certain point, but not when all high street companies do is copy. They should design and create themselves, foster sustainability of handicraft, and produce in Europe or on the site where their locations are in order to aid the economical development of the particular country. I’m thinking continentally here, totally being aware, that it’s impossible to produce cheaply in a country like Switzerland for example. If only there were more factories, it would be much easier for small and medium-scale enterprises.

  What do you think of designers that call themselves artists – do you agree?

  That’s a difficult and fragile topic, where it comes down to functionality. If a table can’t stand, it loses his functionality. If a dress is not wearable, it is… an objet d’art. Art is an important factor for me in terms of the design, but I consider myself as a designer, not an artist. At the point where I am to create something, where I am to depict a complicated drapery as a cut, it is an art to do so, but the end result is functional design, not art. Funnily, this piece of art I’ve seen at the ‘Ars Eletronica’ in Linz crosses my mind. It was about a washing machine that was fed with vegetables and shat faeces smelling like greens. Very functional. …Sorry, that must be the wine.

  What about conceptual designers, where do you place them?

  Maison Martin Margiela define themselves as artists. This clearly is a marketing strategy. Fashion shows are a centre of attraction and made for marketing purposes. Some do super abstract shows, just to be talked about and feed the media, like Patrick Mohr. I don’t think of his clothes as very outlandish, but the concept behind it comes out even and sells well. It’s provocative on the strengths of its boredom and wearability. Isn’t it just all about causing a stir so as to sell a prêt-à-porter collection? I have seen through them a long time ago (laughs). ...

  ... Which is your favourite piece of the collection?

  Everything black. Black is dope! But to break it down to one favourite piece I’d opt for look number 24 because of its sophistication and the subtle drapery. It is out of linen and was batik dyed in Italy by Rosenstein that exclusively works with natural fibre, never with synthetics. The collection contains a lot of silk such as chiffon, cotton wool, new wool, linen, viscose and jersey. It feels real good when worn, our clothes change your inner countenance. ...

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