FASHIONED FANTASIES

FASHIONED FANTASIES Right The commissioned work from Gucci resulted in a set of illustrations featuring the ‘Wonder Factory’ where gems are fashioned. Bottom In Phannapast’s vision, the factory is run by all kinds of fanciful and endearing creatures behind ‘Le Marché des Merveilles’ jewels and charms. were very conventional. Leaves had to be green, and the branches of the tree had a certain form,” says Phannapast. In art school, Phannapast had access to many artistic concepts, ideas and inspiration, and found out that beauty, indeed, has different faces and forms. She started to take a hard, long look in the mirror to find out her talents. “People have been living in a conventional world way too long, and are way too comfortable to recognise the beauty of being different,” says Phannapast. “When we find something or someone unconventional, we keep asking too many questions. We tend to think that they are misfits and alienated. We believe that they need to be fixed. “In fact, we don’t have to look, think, feel or act like our peers. Beauty lies in being different – be it difference in sexual identity or appearance.” In her work for Gucci, Phannapast tries to convince people of this philosophy. In art school, Phannapast had access to many artistic concepts, ideas and inspiration and found out that beauty, indeed, has different faces and forms. She also illustrated a book of imaginative fairy tales written by a friend, Aracha Cholitgul, inspired by stories of a personal past, and brought into an artistic visualisation. The tales in three chapters revolve around a “Wonder Factory” where animals create jewellery. In the first chapter, “A Present from the Sky” tells a tale of the kitten who wears a mask to cover up a facial mole. One day the little cat decides to take off the mask when it learned that beauty and a feelgood experience do not come from appearance alone. The second chapter, “The Very Big New Friend”, Erawan is a large elephant having a hard time trying to get a job in the factory. She is large in size with legs as large as the oldest trees in the forest. Her body is even bigger than the factory itself and when her ears flap, they create a small whirlwind. After Erawan has been in the factory for a while, she learns that she is a misfit. Every 54