Melbourne fashion graduate Kritikon Qatur Khamsawat is exploring how we interact with clothing
PHOTOGRAPHY BY MYLES PEDLAR
WORDS BY FASHION JOURNAL
“I have a deep belief in clothing’s power and its direct connection to personal identity and self-expression.”
For Thailand-born, Melbourne-based fashion graduate Kritikon Qatur Khamsawat, this year’s PayPayl Melbourne Fashion Festival isn’t his first time among the top 10 designers at the National Graduate Showcase. Last year, his technology-inspired collection, Ma Void, secured his status as one of Australia’s top-ranked emerging designers.
This year, Kritikon’s innovative garment construction and experimental designs are being rewarded again, this time for his series of pieces created “from an avant-garde, demi-couture, surrealist perspective”.
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As an official media partner of Paypal Melbourne Fashion Festival, Fashion Journal is excited to once again be supporting the National Graduate Showcase, celebrating Australia’s top-ranked emerging fashion design talent. The top 10 leading graduates from across the country will exhibit their collections in a boundary-pushing presentation, showcasing experimental design and innovation. Over the next few weeks, we’ll be profiling each designer through a series of interviews. Next up is Kritikon Qatur Khamsawat.
Please introduce yourself to our readers.
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My name is Kritikon Qatur Khamsawat. I originally hail from a small village in Sakon Nakhon, Thailand and am now based in Naarm, Australia. I have a deep belief in clothing’s power and its direct connection to personal identity and self-expression. I [aim to] create performative and complex garments from an avant-garde, demi-couture, surrealist perspective.
Tell us about your collection.
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Dressing practices influence moods, [and] how we visualise things and interact with objects or garments. This suggests an inherent link between the two mediums of objects and performance… when dressing or using a certain object, we provoke a physical response.
Congrats on being featured in the National Graduate Showcase for the second year running! How have you evolved as a designer in the last year?
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This year I was able to pinpoint my mastery, which is working with structure and form around the body. I am slowly finding out who I am as a designer and am able to evolve how I work with the body, which is through body performance…
What were the major points of inspiration for this collection, and how does it differ from your last NGS collection?
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For this collection, I was highly inspired by… how we move, how we act, the visual effect created when the garment and object are on and off the body; and how to disrupt the language of these archetypes beyond their purpose.
The inspiration for this comes from many processes. I have to thank my mentors Chantel Kirby, Ricarda Bigolin, Daphne Monhajer va Pesaran and Blake Barns for guiding me to push other ways [and] to explore making.
Tell us about the experience of putting together this collection.
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It was a challenge conceptually when working with objects and garments with a strong language; the goal was to find the right balance when changing the archetype motives. It required a lot of research and trials, as this collection was based on performances – not only the garment and the object itself but [also] the body.
Can you talk about a standout garment you’ve created or one of your favourites?
I think all of them are my favourites. Each look I created flows to tell a story.
What about the Australian fashion industry needs to change?
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More collaboration with other creatives outside of the industry. This year, I had the pleasure of collaborating with an industrial designer, Dom Rossi. He helped and influenced one of the looks within the collection, giving it more depth…
What’s next for you?
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This year, I want to do more collaborative work with other amazing creatives within Naarm within/outside the fashion industry. And I want to find a creative space where I can do an internship while creating ready-to-wear versions of this collection before going overseas to explore and make connections worldwide.
Some of Amy’s responses have been edited for clarity. To view more of the designer’s work, head here.
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