5 Times We Were Charmed by HRH Princess Sirivannavari Nariratana

Prestige is honoured to celebrate our 13th anniversary this month with the multi-talented HRH Princess Sirivannavari Nariratana gracing our cover. In addition to a beautiful photoshoot, Her Royal Highness granted an interview with Jinda Wedel. During the course of our conversation, she discusses her passions, her many roles and her heart-felt determination to dedicate herself to those many duties she takes up.

Here are five times we couldn’t help being charmed by Thailand’s beloved royal and daughter of His Majesty King Maha Vajiralongkorn Bodindradebayavarangkun.

1. When Princess Sirivannavari explains why she loves being a designer so much.

“I enjoy researching something I’m interested in. I enjoy dedicating myself, discovering things and learning more. Secondly, I also enjoy patternmaking, making my own moulage and drafting the patterns.  I enjoy making the drawings myself, too, not just fashion sketches. Also, sketching the textiles. Going from my first design, from the idea stage and before it gets expanded upon… looking at textiles. These are my favourite parts.”

2. When she says that horse-riding should begin with a love for animals.

“First of all, the most important thing to do – you must love animals. No need to expect anything else – love and cherish them. Take an interest. Try it out [horse-riding], and learn the fundamentals. From there, if you want to get serious about it, it’s another story. But love must come first. A love for the sport, and love for trying and experimenting.” — her advice for young people who want to learn how to ride horses.

3. When she credits learning as key to success.

“Success, that could happen quickly… but longevity? That’s the key. This is difficult. How can you make sure this is for the long-term? That’s what you must focus on. If you want to succeed, you must keep learning every single day. With each season, you learn what you need to correct or improve upon. You don’t just declare yourself successful. As long as you live, you must continue to strive to learn.”

Watch the slideshow of beautiful images from the photoshoot here.

4. When she dismisses the idea of a glamorous life of ease abroad.

“It’s crystal clear to me what my duties are, even when abroad… I have my royal duties, my personal work, like my brand. I meet up with friends and other fashion figures. That’s really all there is to it. There isn’t anything luxurious or glamorous. Anywhere I am, I am a Thai person.”

5. When she expresses her admiration for Thai fashion/ creative talents.

“This is something the international community needs to know: we Thais have great resources and creative people. Talented people. We have excellent makeup artists and hair stylists, we have great tools and techniques. Even if we aren’t often mentioned or promoted on the world stage, we have all that anyone else outside of Thailand has. We do it all and we do it well.”

Grab a copy of Prestige’s 13th anniversary issue – available from all leading bookstores in Thailand –  to read the full article.