Madaew: Thai Fashionista

Apichet “Madaew” Atilattana is an Internet sensation at 16 – and not for singing wicked cover versions of Justin Bieber. He designs and models dresses that he cobbles together out of the most unusual materials, like mosquito netting, clothes hangers, cooking utensils, bicycle tyres and even various forms of plant life.
Amassing more than 200,000 followers on Facebook and Instagram since he began uploading his pictures in February, the Khon Kaen high-school student who goes by the “stage name” Thai Baan Fashionista has been featured in Attitude magazine’s online edition and on the Facebook pages of China’s CCTV News and BBC Thailand. That’s the sort of attention you can probably expect when you go around wearing leaves, vegetables and flowers. (It certainly worked for the hippies!) The flora that Madaew turns into fashion are all native to his home province, and the household objects he uses, such as clothes hangers, fishnet and baskets, come from his actual home – or at least from his parents’ market stall. What began as a lark among friends – with the images and video clips uploaded straight from a mobile phone since Madaew doesn’t own a proper computer – has become a launching pad for a career in the clothing trade.”Ever since I was small I’ve been designing special outfits to wear and posing for the camera,” Madaew tells Bright TV. “I played with my grandmother’s old trousers and other clothes and made all sorts of dresses just by wrapping and draping fabrics that weren’t tailored to begin with.