Die-hard fans of the Sretsis fashion brand who want a custom wedding dress by the label -- brace yourselves for this cold, hard limitation. Their creative director Pimdao Sukhahuta will only be able to oversee two clients per year to design a brand-new, one-of-a-kind ensemble for special occasions. Book your slots early because the process to truly understand each bride or wearer's desires requires Pimdao no less than six months to conceive a gown that ticks all your boxes of dreamy extravaganza.
Create your own dress from the Signature, Bespoke, Grand Ceremony or Couture packages.
In truth, friends and close customers of the fashion house have long been calling on Pimdao to design custom-made dresses for years. However, the onset of Covid-19 forced Sretsis to capitalise on this service that was only previously known to the inner circles of the brand's most private clients. Last year, the Sretsis White Glove Service Collection was launched in order to serve fantasy and fancy frills right into the homes of customers. Pink trucks delivered racks of clothes and textile swatches that ladies could peruse to decide on a customised outfit of their own choosing. As lockdowns and travel restrictions still remain an unpredictable see-saw, the brand's food and beverage outlet, Sretsis Parlour, has changed its Swan Room into an official salon for the White Glove Service, which offers four different packages of customised attire.
"We're in a new age where your clothes are not exactly 100% couture but you receive the same care and service as if you were getting couture made," explains Klyduan Sukhahuta, co-founder of Sretsis. "It's a mix of ready-to-wear and couture, which is a business model suited to both the customers and our operations. We have tried and tested styles you can select from, but we don't produce them because the stock can be wasted if no one likes it. We don't want to order too much fabric, because we have to think about sustainability too, which is crucial for the good of the company, environment and world."
The Signature Collection, starting at 55,000 baht, offers 10 iconic signature silhouettes and four Thai dresses, with archive prints that ladies can choose from. Most of their popular silhouettes that are flattering and timeless can be found in this selection, so if you've always wanted a certain dress in an old print or colour that never was produced, this is the easiest pick to go with. Starting at 75,000 baht, the Bespoke Collection offers even more personalisation. For the bespoke fit option, the dresses are custom-fitted to the specifications of each client's measurements (they are not in standard sizes like in the Signature collection) and can also be altered to feature shorter hemlines, longer sleeves, open back, etc. On the other hand, the bespoke textile option gives freedom to the customer to add personalised touches of initials, feathers, or any embellishment that would correspond to the theme they are searching for. The fabric can even be redesigned to feature specific details. Actress Ploy Chermarn did so by choosing a signature textile with tigers but added a fun quirk where the tiger had a speech bubble calling her name right on the print.
The most iconic dresses from Sretsis at the atelier.
For even grander items, ladies can go for the Grand Ceremony package, which starts at 120,000 baht. This package offers both a bespoke fit and bespoke textile, where the creative director, as well as the design team, oversee the creation of a made-to-measure special dress. Clients will enter the design approval process and also have one fitting at the atelier. This option offers plentiful customisation, but for those who want something never seen before, the Couture package will see Pimdao sketching a brand new dress that is truly one-of-a-kind. With a price tag starting at 220,000 baht, this is the ultimate couture offering from the brand which requires a conceptualisation and production period of six months, directly overseen by Pimdao.
"Fashion moves rapidly these days, where outfits are at your fingertips and you can see thousands of dresses on Instagram in a day," says Sretsis stylist Jeremy Angsuvarnsiri. "This slows things down a bit and takes you back to the days when your mum went on a trip to the tailor. There's elegance in having to wait for your dress, which is meticulously produced and is packed with intricate details made just for you. There's a nostalgia for that age, where we pause for a bit and not everything has to happen so quickly."
"We all need a pause in everything in this age," adds Klyduan. "With this service, customers have time to choose something that truly suits them. And if it's something you truly like, you will wear it always. It's something you can re-wear again or pass on to your kids. We feel great when kids start wearing their mum's old Sretsis clothes because it proves that our clothes stand the test of time and the quality is up there to allow that. It means the designs don't get outdated or old to wear."
Sustainability in design is now another challenge Sretsis' team must grapple with as more fashion brands consciously transition to more eco-friendly practices. Designing something that will not look outdated in a decade must be on the cards while trying to upcycle old stock or breathe new life into old pieces by way of painting or so forth brings about a new (but exciting) set of challenges for the younger designers of tomorrow.
For this reason, the main autumn-winter 2021 collection offers essential favourites from its archives -- bomber jackets, jeans, tees, cardigans, blazers -- with the option to add as many gilded patches as customers can choose. With patch motifs ranging from hearts, bows and military regalia to SRS letters, the brand's tailors will sew the patches to whichever position you prefer. There's no doubt about the future of sustainable fashion: the fewer design gripes one has on their clothes and the more each specification has been made according to one's liking, the more likely it will be worn for life.
Sretsis White Glove Service is available by appointment only. Call 02-160-5874 or visit the Sretsis flagship at Central Embassy, Level 2.
A tailor sews a patch onto jeans from the AW21 collection according to a customer's preference.
