“I sketch with pencil and paper; I draft my patterns by hand; I create my designs with them.” For Shone Puipia, the hand is very much a tool of his craft. The feeling that things have been touched by them is ever present in his garments. The subtle frayed raw edges, the gesture of a knotted bow, and pattern pieces that have been carefully assembled together like a jigsaw – these are some aspects that speak to the sensitivity of his designs.

The cut and craftsmanship have always been at the core of Shone’s work. He balances precision in tailoring with an offbeat flair. Cropped, paneled jackets inspired by the Renaissance doublet and wide-legged pleated trousers in textured denim offer his
vision of a suit. A deconstructed tuxedo jacket in wool silk is delicately held together by ribbons along its seams. The “LB” construction, a puzzle-like pattern making technique inspired by textile works of French artist Louise Bourgeois, plays with the lines of the body on various silhouettes. Abstracted breast forms are created with hand-finished inlay of fabrics on shirts and fluid dresses.

Shone’s love for textiles and colours invite you to touch and tempt the hands. Cotton denim fabric has been needle-punched to create a hair-like surface. Handwoven silks incorporate stripes of cut linen thread for a feathery effect. A surface treatment of bias-cut Thai silk strips, meticulously appliquéd together, gives a certain rawness to this luxurious material.

The SHONE PUIPIA brand lies at the crossroads of fashion and art. For its fifth anniversary show Hands in 2023, Shone designed a series of “painting dresses” in collaboration with Thai painter and his father, Chatchai Puipia. This group of silk organza pieces feature oil-on-canvas panels buttoned to the front, exploring the subject of hands in several Old Master’s paintings. For this presentation in Paris, Shone continues this artist collaboration series and bridges different creative arts practices. Chatchai Puipia’s depiction of the Hindu god Brahma honors the idea of “the Creator” in the style of traditional Thai mural paintings. The panel is paired with an ensemble cut from a cotton Jamdani saree sourced from India. Collaborating with Thai artist Pinaree Sanpitak, Shone employs a technique from her textile work Breast Stupas (2000-2001), where motifs are created by carefully pulling threads out row-by-row from silk tapestry fabric. The works of Thai photographer Dham Srifuengfung led to an exploration of photo collage on garments. Working with a local print studio, they experimented with screen printing on various textures and fabrics that brought new dimensions to the photographs and clothes.

Images by Montis Songsombat