This royal is ready to rock

‘Presence of the Past’, the debut collection of Princess Sirivannavari.

Going it alone this year, after debuting under Balmain's sponsorship at Paris Fashion Week last September, Her Royal Highness Princess Sirivannavari Nariratana is sure to turn heads in the French capital again in September with her startling new collection.

"Don't be surprised when you see how sexy my new collection is," she says.

The theme is "Ethnic Rock", and it is a blend of Thai ethnic-minority culture with antiwar protest songs and the music of the 1970s and 1980s, from the Rolling Stones to Guns & Roses.

"I've intersected them into my designs," Princess Sirivannavari says. "You sense the local civilisation as well as the purity and sexiness of rock."

That - and a hint of bondage chic, with a woman tied up at the hands and legs - could send the highbrows even higher in Paris when her collection is shown on September 27 at the Intercontinental Paris-Le Grand Hotel.

Princess Sirivannavari will be in Paris this time with her own brand, Sirivannavari, front and centre. The response from last year's show was outstanding. Publications around the globe hailed the arrival of an exciting new talent, sparking a surge in Sirivannavari culture and fan clubs in Milan, Italy and Japan, not to mention Thailand.

The first Southeast Asian designer to participate in Paris Fashion Week, she returns this time after having just been included on Forbes magazine's list of the world's 20 "hottest" young, eligible royals.

French and Dutch advisers make up more than half of the Princess' design team, adding invaluable expertise in cutting and detailing, but, "The overall look is still me," she says.

"Despite the foreign influence, I lose nothing in terms of Thai-ness or my own distinctive style."

The brand's general manager, MR Pandis Diskul,  though says that the concept "has to follow global fashion trends, so don't expect the Princess' collection to reflect Thai-ness all the time. Think of Armani or Hermes creating 'Indian' collections."

The Princess is adapting "winter" fabrics, such as leather, to her spring and summer outfits.

"That's why I require special techniques to make the heavy materials lighter for the season," she says.

"I'm also using chic geometric forms, such as upside-down triangles and hexagons, and the tones are smoky grey, white, black and orange.

"In the details, I emphasise ethnic culture, using pegs and nails, and the northern style of cross-stitching and wraps, and it looks very feminine. One of the dresses, for example, uses a plaiting technique throughout, but it doesn't look bulky at all."

Paris will get to see 40 warm-weather outfits for women. The Princess will present her men's line at Elle Fashion Week in Bangkok soon after her return.

She is also planning to pursue another dream. Soon after she graduates from Chulalongkorn University next year, she will study surface and textile design in Japan, then train with Armani in Milan for seven months, and then with Dior in Paris for another seven months.

The Princess is also proud to have been accepted at the prestigious Ecole Nationale des Beaux-Arts in Paris, where she will focus on mosaics and stained-glass studies. Princess Sirivannavari says her education is primarily for her own profession, but also for the good of the country. She dearly wants to help in its development.

She stresses, too, the importance of her family's backing.

"It's very important to mention my gratitude to Her Majesty the Queen - Her Majesty told me I'm young and she wants me to see a lot more of the world - and to my father, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, whose support I cherish so much."