June 8 saw a flurry of bright lights, and society’s most fashionable dressed in striking black and red at the ballroom of the Grand Ballroom of the Grand Hyatt Erawan Bangkok. Thailand’s creme-de-la-creme — along with us! — were gathered for double celebrations by our sister site Hello! Thailand magazine — the launch of the first-ever ‘H! List’, as well as the publication’s 14th anniversary. Following a theme of Spanish Glamour, the ¡Hola! vibes served not only aesthetic purposes — though the vibrant, fresh colours definitely contributed to making the night a memorable one — but also as a celebration of Hello! Magazine’s Spanish origins.
H! List is a special supplement publication that compiles the stories of 500 distinguished individuals who have regularly shared exclusive snippets into their lives with Hello! Thailand over the past 13 years. The magazine rang in its 14th anniversary by presenting awards to winners of Hello! The Story of You, in ten different categories, voted by loyal readers of the magazine. While the glamorous and downright opulent affair might be over, we are far from over it! To help you relive what was probably the most exciting high-society party of the month, here are our picks of the most memorable moments of the night.
The Theme
‘Dress to impress’ is taken to a whole new level when it comes to high-society parties — giving Thailand’s it-crowd a fun enough dress code to play with, and they’ll be sure to take it all the way. The result? Extravagant headpieces and flamenco dresses, dancing to the backdrop of massive — and you know when we say massive we mean really, truly massive — servings of paella. Everyone came dressed to the nines, to the point where compiling a best-dressed list is near impossible. Scroll to see a glimpse of what we mean.
The Booths
When everyone arrives looking their most stylish best, you have to provide photo-opps that do their outfits justice. Thankfully, there was no shortage of Instagrammable opportunities at the party, thanks to Hello! Thailand’s incredibly creative partners who, truth be told, played a big part in making the party the success it was. From Alexander & James’s too-comfortable-to-be-true sofas, to sophisticated beauty looks by Cle de Peau, here are the booths that we loved.
The Car
And, being a party by Hello! Magazine, it wasn’t just any car either. In the midst of the event was a stunning BMW 8, giving off enough cutting-edge design and dream-car vibes to make any car enthusiast look on in longing. Were we surprised by how often we heard “can I get a picture with the car?” No, no we definitely were not.
The Shows
And of course, to host an entertaining party, you need some entertainment. Going from Spanish dance and song to a spin-off on Ariana Grande by Natalia Sukosol Briones, here are the shows that made the night truly special.
The Speeches
On a more serious, heartfelt note, the managing director of Burda (Thailand), Waraporn Siriboonma, gave a speech, talking about Hello! Thailand’s journey, the significance of the event, and finally congratulating those who made it onto the H! List and received awards in the 10 different categories.
The Awards
And then, of course, we have the winners. Here are the individuals who won the Hello! The Story of You awards.
The Guests
Of course, at the end of the day, what made the event really truly memorable were the guests. In an industry like ours, where each day is spent immersed in fanciful happenings all across town, it’s often comfortingly grounding to be amongst familiar faces. As we celebrate how far our sister site has come — and, in a way, how much further it has to go — we felt immensely grateful for the friends who have joined us in our journey — friends who we hope will remain a part of us for many more years to come. Scroll to see who else was there!
To find out more about our sister site Hello! Thailand magazine, visit th.hellomagazine.com.