Strongthe is a menswear brand launched in 2019 by Strong Theveethivarak, a London-based designer from Thailand. Only three years old, this brand is a fresh take on menswear. Strongthe is a brand that evokes comfort through clothes. In the three collections released since their induction, they have all managed to speak on health matters through exact tailoring and a healing spirituality inspired by the cross of London and Thailand experiences.
Health and design can be found at the core essences of this brand. In their FW20 collection titled “Lucky”, the pieces were a reference to the rituals practiced for good fortune in Thailand and a statement on health as the designer wanted to speak on finding strength in uncertain times relating his clothes to his relationship with illness. The statement was an aim to reinvent illness with optimism through clothing. The tree knots found throughout the pieces represented Thailand’s belief in spirit trees and their ability to bring good fortune to those that pray to them. Likewise, the draping and tailored wrapping of clothes can be likened to hospital wear used to wrap yourself and increase comfort. My favourite look is look 1 with the sacred tree top due to its play with colour and tailoring between the top and bottom. Although, I’d most likely wear look 7 out of all of them, as a result of its darker-toned jack and pants and Swarovski jacket detailing.
Now, what I respected after my analysis of this collection and the brand as a whole was that despite its inspirations, the wearability and accessibility of the clothes were not diminished. The sharp tailoring of the clothes and the details of the accessories worked in tandem with one another to suit both consumers interested in the background and others that just appreciated the design. Similarly, one aspect this menswear brand possesses that many older brands lack is “playfulness”, the ability of a brand’s ethos to possess such qualities without taking away from its quality of work is rarely seen. This feeling is one of many traits that will set them up for success.
In their two-part collection for 2021, Strong addressed the feelings Thai people and people, in general, had about the future. “You Tell Me”, looks at the various ways in which Thai people tackled the pandemic, through fortune-telling, divinity, and the mystics. It poses a question of essentially “What is this?” to the world. Notable features such as; tailoring that accentuates the body can be seen throughout his collection, talismans employed by his home to enhance luck mainly or improve other aspects of life can be seen as accessories in the collection.
“Bless You”, the second part of the collection continues this theme. We see greater use of Thai culture, from traditional attire to other practices like palmistry in the form of differently shaped and cut sleeves. Knotting dominates the collection as his previous ones which are seen to somewhat restrict the wearer though resulting in another form of freedom. My favourite pieces from the two-part collection have to be the teardrop shirt, crossed trousers and stone padded suit. In contrast, I’d most likely wear Look 7 of “You Tell Me” for its smart yet loud appearance.
Strongthe is not afraid to blur the lines of society’s definition of masculinity, along with their focus on textures, tailoring and culture they are one of my favourite upcoming menswear brands. Amongst the leaders of newly defined menswear, Strongthe will slowly but surely rise through the ranks. This article is for those of you like me, tired of the stagnancy of menswear, there is hope. You can find their website here.
References:
- https://1granary.com/interviews/designers/strongthe-from-getting-a-visa-to-starting-a-label/
- https://hypebeast.com/2020/2/strongthe-fall-winter-2020-lucky-collection-lookbook
- https://hypebeast.com/2021/3/strongthe-fw-2021-collection-1-you-tell-me-lookbook
- https://hypebeast.com/2021/12/strongthe-2021-collection-2-bless-you-lookbook-release
Zeros Thoughts 
PHEW , beautiful.
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