Designer brand VINN PATARARIN brings fashionable edge to clothes for medical patients

“That brand with lots of holes” is usually how many people remember the Thai designer label VINN PATARARIN. Known for clothes that feature striking cut-out shapes and laser-cut textures, the brand also champions innovation and experimentation to create fresh looks and designs. Although the pieces seem edgy upon first look, they also embody a sophisticated and versatile appeal that crosses over – men love them, so do women. It comes as no surprise that fashion bigwigs from Bangkok choose to dress in VINN PATARARIN during international fashion weeks, while Chinese rap superstar Jackson Wang has also been known to sport certain looks from previous collections.

However, it seems like Thai fashion isn’t just intent on looking good. If the brand’s spring/summer 2023 collection Modern Botanist is anything to go by, it’s also about helping the wearer feel good. Taking inspiration from how people turn to nature therapy in order to heal themselves, new motifs, prints and silhouettes used in this collection draw from the shapes and colors of flowers and leaves. City dwellers can wear nature on their sleeves with this collection, as 3D pop-up details create an intricate texture that look like petals of flowers on the clothes.

That’s not even the most cutting-edge thing about the collection. Going even deeper to explore how fashion may improve lives, the brand has been experimenting with Ramathibodi Hospital in order to rehabilitate stroke patients. “The idea first came about when the pandemic started,” says founder Patararin Pongprasit. “My co-founder Vinn and I talked about how art and fashion could possibly offer therapeutic functions, especially during that time when there was so much anxiety. As the team pored over this question, we eventually arrived at the subject of stroke patients and coming to see how our fabrics could be of use to rekindling their sensory loss and activities of daily living (ADLs).”

In this first phase of an ongoing research, a few clothing items have been designed in order to serve the needs of stroke patients. A large concern for patients can be how clothes designed for them usually let others know that they suffer from a stroke, but Vinn Patararin’s creations can suit the chic non-patient just as well. For example, to meet the needs of stroke patients, a string of buttons are placed at a specific angle in order to ensure greater convenience for those with limited mobility. It also offers an opportunity for patients to jumpstart their motoring skills, by buttoning the myriad of buttons on the shirt. In another dress with lots of cut-outs, these hanging details can be left alone for one look, but tying the dangling bits can create another look of weaves. Feeling these 3D details against the skin helps patients to relearn again what rough or smooth textures feel like, after they have lost their sense of touch across their bodies.

As the experiments continue, the benefits of their clothes also seem to extend to those with autism. From their findings so far, children with autism learn to control their focus better by zeroing onto the weaves and intricate details of the fabrics. Nevertheless, there’s no concrete conclusion that the findings will need to result in clothing designs, as Vinn and Patararin are open to whatever their research may lead them. “Maybe it might be an object you put in your room to look at to reduce your anxiety, who knows,” says Patararin. “There’s still a lot of experimentation to do, but a good start is how our fabrics have encouraged the stroke patients to go on with their therapy. It’s beautiful for them to look at and an aesthetic novelty, so they they aren’t bored and actually have fun with the tasks they are given. Many times, these patients are old people who are exasperated with re-learning skills they have known all their lives, but our fabrics and weaves have become an interesting aide for them to interact with.”

Whether the brand will make its foray into the medical world is still in the works, but for those interested in the brand’s signature aesthetics, their offerings are not limited to fashion only. Now available at their Central Embassy store, the founder duo have recently launched a homeware collection the end of last year, featuring placemats, vase covers, handbags and cases. Of course, there will be lots of holes.

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