O Thongthai A/W'14: Original Gangster - The Clothes Maiden Magazine

The catwalks of the most recent fashion weeks might appeal to our feminine side, what with all the lace, floral and delicate fringing adorning the sashaying, statuesque muses.

The world of commercial fashion might appeal to our sensible side, offering us “bargains”, bounteous choice and ready-made looks to transmute us into one (or the other) of the current crop of style “icons”; but Thailand born-and-bred jewellery designer, O Thongthai, is bucking both of these rather trite trends with her Autumn/Winter ’14 collection, “Original Gangster”.

At the heart of Original Gangster lies authentic, unaffected masculinity (which stems from O Thongthai’s earnest invocation of her late grandfather’s style and the “universal truths” he taught her) and idiosyncratic design and intentions – an overt “bad girl” air (which, in turn, bolsters the wearer’s own sense of individuality and subversiveness).

All of which manifests in edgy, handcrafted earrings, cuffs, chokers and rings, plated in gold, rose gold, silver and black ruthenium; bold looks that scream youthful rebellion and rock chick bravado, whilst whispering latent delicacy, evident simplicity and the beauty of “imperfection and deterioration”.

Bold looks that bind two disparate cultures together (O Thongthai lived in London for five years, and has also imbued Original Gangster with touches of the capital city’s urban quirk; this is most patent in the collection’s accompanying short film – the dark and deeply mesmerising, grime-music-sound-tracked, Bangkok-shot – “Ride or Die”), creating a highly incisive debut that’s both retrospective and forward-thinking. In short: being bad has never looked so good.

Tara Okeke

For more information, check out O Thongthai’s site or the collection’s accompanying short film, “Ride or Die”.