After a year of studying fashion design at Accademia Italiana, Tawn had his first fashion show Saturday night. Here’s a look at this exciting evening.
Some of our friends who made it to the show. (From left: Per, Ko, Linda, Tawn, Fluck, and Bim) We were blessed to have more than a dozen friends show up to lend their support, with many others who sent their regards and best wishes.
Here’s a 3-minute video summarizing the evening.
The Collection
The assignment for the students was to take their inspiration from Italy, a fitting assignment given the Italian roots of the school. Tawn thought about his last visit to Italy and a trip he took to Siena. Inspired by the city and the Piazza del Campo, the fan-shaped public plaza at the heart of Siena, Tawn interpreted this shape into the skirt and the pleats which appear throughout his collection.
He used body suits with all the outfits, interpreted for women and covered in different ways to transform the looks while maintaining a cohesive theme. This being a spring/summer collection, Tawn chose lighter fabrics, primarily grey, black, and nude color silk chiffon for the outer garments with black crepe for the body suits. There is significant bead work on many pieces which give the appearance of a subtle pattern.
The story behind Tawn’s collection is of women gardening. Each model carries props that convey this story.
Look #1: Tawn’s first look is a one-shoulder body suit covered with a gauzy silk chiffon long skirt. The hem of the skirt is cut in a train with the back longer than the front.
Look #2: The body suit from the first look evolves into short pants evocative of 1950s swim wear. The blouse features a sophisticated bow and detailed hand-sewn bead work as well as black piping on the cuffs and the bow. All four models wore these custom-designed pleated ankle cuffs with black velvet ribbon.
Look #3: An elegant hybrid of evening gown and night gown featuring pleated multi-tier skirt with black piping worn with a simple black corset body suit.
Look #4: This final look (which the picture does not do justice to) is a sleeveless nude color body suit with a rear black chiffon bow and an accompanying pencil skirt. The detailed hand-sewn bead work subtly decorates the skirt.
Tawn, fellow students, and their models pose with the director of the school for a group photo.
After the show, Tawn with his proud husband.
We returned home to a low key evening, letting all our friends head their own way and declining invitations to celebrate. Dinner was Homemade chicken and garbanzo bean enchiladas with a mole poblano sauce and a bottle of Moet Chandon champagne.
After a very long past few weeks as The Annex (as we call the adjacent condo unit which we use as an office and work room) has turned into a whirlwind of fabric, thread, accessories, and needles, the post-show stillness is eerie. The sudden lack of adrenaline coursing through our veins is like going over a cliff. Nice to have a calm and quiet Sunday afterwards with nothing to worry about.
Oh, and in case you are interested, here are some of the outfits shown by Tawn’s classmates:
christao408 
Fabulous designs, Tawn! Very feminine and figure-friendly. I love them!!!! You must be so proud, both of you!
And Tawn wins the prize! It’s a lovely collection. What happens to the clothes once the show is over?
Tawn’s work is so chic- just like him! Btw, does he cut his patterns and stitch as well?Oh, I can’t watch the video… it’s blocked on grounds of copyright restrictions by EMI.
Congrats to Tawn! I especially liked the first dress – I would gladly wear something like that. Beautiful. Did he have to sew all of those clothes, or did he “just” design them?
Beautiful designs by Tawn, and I love the color palette. Congratulations to both of you!
Aww… can’t view the video – boo to EMI.The clothes look nice (although I’m not a fashion kinda guy…). I would have loved to see the first dress in black as well. Those ankle cuffs are sexy – I want to undo them.
Wow.. Tawn is very talented!! Enjoyed the show and the well organized account of the event… What an accomplishment !!
I like Tawn’s the best ,that soft flowing chiffon is beautiful,I love #3,the piping on that is exquisite and the watering can sets it off…outstanding.What is the grass/grain in the bouquet?
look #2 is my favourite! please say congrats to tawn for me! =)
Congrats Tawn! Beautiful collection and loving connecting all the outfits.
Very chic haute couture and congrats to Tawn. I think he’s got the most beautiful designs out there! By the way, I like that flower basket, any chance of bringing that over to L.A.? LOL
A wonderful start! Tawn has talent and great ideas! Congrats to him and you!!
i loved the simplicity of look #4!tawn did such a great job – congratulations to him!and his suit? all i’ll say is, he could walk into oakland,ca with that thing on and he’d be king of the pimps! that suit is a killer! =D
Look #1 was my favorite. I wish Tawn all the best in his career.
cool! I liked #4 But #1 WHOA!!! what a knock out! That is a great dress to wear for a cruise. Billowy in the wind on deck and sexy for dinner, such Great fashions. Congratulations.
Wonderful job, Tawn! All the pieces looked lovely. I liked the billowing free look of the chiffon as well.
@Dezinerdreams – @ElusiveWords – EMI is the Pet Shop Boys’ label, who wrote and performed the first piece. Let me change the music and try publishing again and see if that helps. I’ll put the video in a separate post later today.
what an awesome collection!was looking for information on visiting Bangkok and came upon your blog. i love the colours Tawn chose, and the material complements the design very well. will he be selling these commercially? i would love to buy #1!well done Tawn for the beautiful designs and you for documenting the show 🙂
@LR – Thanks for your nice words. Tawn is just finishing his second semester of studying fashion design and he does hope to be able to start designing and producing clothes commercially in the future. Stay tuned to this blog and I’ll be sure to let the world know when he is ready to take that next step!@jandsschultz – @Ikwa – @The_Eyes_Of_A_Painter – @murisopsis – @Fatcat723 – @awoolham – @stebow – @turningreen – Thanks everyone for your very kind and supportive words.@seedsower – Tawn doesn’t know what type of grass that is. Just something he saw at the flower shop.@CurryPuffy – I’d be happy to ask Tawn to source it for you, if you’d like. You’re talking about the wicker one?@Dezinerdreams – @Passionflwr86 – Thanks for your kind words. In answer to your question, in addition to designing and making the patterns, Tawn did a large part of the production, too. However, since he is just learning and also since the show was moved up about three weeks earlier than he had originally been told, he did outsource some parts of the production to two seamstresses.@jace1982 – I’ll give him a hug and kiss from you, too, if you’d like. @ThePrince – Glad you liked the suit. He had it made by a friend who has a shop in Siam Square. It is very stylish but it made of a canvas-like material and is a bit too heavy for our weather.@ElusiveWords – Would you like a custom-made pair of anklets, Matt? What size are you?@slmret – Janet, the clothes are going to become part of a larger collection, perhaps a total of 15 outfits. These will then be photographed as a “look book” that Tawn can use as he tries to take his designs commercial.
@christao408 – really?? that’s great! one of these days, i’m going to ask you for your friend when i need a good suit tailored!
Beautiful! All of it. I have to brag here (although this has nothing to do with me except by association), but my cousin-in-law is a fashion student in San Francisco. A couple of years ago he entered a contest to design a dress for Mariah Carey… and he WON! A 20-year-old fashion student! http://stylenews.peoplestylewatch.com/2009/05/20/exclusive-mariah-careys-fan-designed-frock-revealed/ – thought Tawn might appreciate that 🙂
Some neat stuff!
I always love seeing the drawings of fashion designers and the final product. Very beautiful!
Wow, I really LOVE Look #1!!!!! That is some school he goes to–Tawn has talent, and perhaps one day I will be able to tell people I knew a famous designer’s husband!!!
@DrTiff – That’s very cool. What a prize to win!@brooklyn2028 – Glad you liked it, Sheldon. I, too, like seeing how something goes from concept to finished product, although would prefer that I not have to keep stepping on pins that have fallen to the floor and not been retrieved!@yang1815 – Yes, it is.@ThePrince – Just let me know. The shop is called Poem.
Me gusta! Especially the secret sketches behind these amazing dresses! Favorite picture has to be the one with the little boy 😀
@Devilzgaysianboi – That designer – she’s half-Chinese, half-American, I think – used her own models including her young son, her early teen daughter and her daughter’s friend. Broke with the mold by not using the same models as everyone else.
I must have been busy with Mother’s Day and the company I had. I totally missed this and the next post. This is an amazing get-up Chris. Tawn is so talented and the dresses that he has designed are truly elegant. I can see how proud you are of him and of his work. How good that you both returned home to be by yourself after the show and just chilled without anyone else there. I am emailing these two posts to Saadia and Shelley for them to drool on. Much love to both of you.
@ZSA_MD – Thank you for your kind words. I’m very proud of Tawn’s accomplishment and look forward to seeing how his career in fashion develops.