Retail shops across Thailand are struggling to meet the demand for black outfits and muted wardrobes as people enter into mourning for the death Queen Mother Sirikit.
Black clothing is traditionally worn to signify mourning in Thailand – Reuters
It’s a result of two converging circumstances: the October 24 passing of Queen Mother Sirikit, the widely venerated consort of Thailand’s late King Bhumibol Adulyadej, and Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul’s request for all government workers to wear “mourning attire” for one year, with everyone else asked to dress in black or subdued colours for 90 days.
Within a few days, businesses have seen sales of blouses, dresses, polos, shirts, and tees in black skyrocket to levels not seen since 2016, when King Bhumibol died after a seven-decade reign and a similar one-year mourning period was observed. Some vendors have now run out of black clothing to sell.
At Bangkok’s Bobae Market, a hub for the wholesale garment trade, hundreds of vendors put their stocks of black clothing on full display, relegating more colourful pieces to the back. Thai office workers roamed the stalls during lunch breaks, carrying colourful plastic bags full of new black tops and dresses they would be wearing for the months to come.
In public spaces from streets to sky trains, a majority of Thais can be seen donning black or darker colours over the past few days. Large electronic billboards all over the capital Bangkok also displayed black and white portraits of Queen Mother Sirikit, with texts mourning the loss of the nation. Black attire also dominated business conferences and seminars in the Thai capital.
“There’s no time to sleep, I’ve just been packing and shipping,” said Nuttanun Kongdee. The 47-year-old vendor said she has been selling about 10,000 black shirts, blouses, and dresses each day since Queen Sirikit’s passing, compared to her usual sales of about 200-300 pieces a day. “This reflects the loyalty of Thai people for the Queen Mother.”
Some 250 miles (400 kilometres) from Bangkok, Chanarbhorn- an apparel store in Buriram province- sold out all of its black clothes and couldn’t put in new orders. “The factory said black T-shirts are out of stock,” Chanarbhorn’s manager, who asked to go by Tukta, said by phone.
In Thailand, the monarch is officially treated as semi-divine. The kingdom, formerly known as Siam, was ruled by kings who held absolute power for centuries until 1932, when a bloodless revolution ushered in the current era of constitutional monarchy, with the king serving as the head of state. The country also has one of the world’s toughest laws against royal insults.
Back in the Bangkok market, Turnjai Khamkawl, 56, had just run out of her black Chitralada dresses, traditional Thai silk costumes that are normally worn during royal ceremonies. She said the backlog of orders- which came in from all around the country- now ran for over a week, as many Thais would like to wear the costumes to lay artificial sandalwood flowers as part of the queen’s funeral ceremonies.
Revered as the country’s matriarch, Queen Sirikit was the mother of the reigning monarch, King Maha Vajiralongkorn. She died at 93, just months after her August 12 birthday, which is also celebrated as Mother’s Day in Thailand.
“She was the mother of the nation. All Thais are in mourning,” Turnjai said.
Global asset management firm GoldenTree will buy a chunk of a $1 billion bankruptcy financing for luxury retailer Saks Global, Bloomberg News reported on Tuesday, citing people familiar with the matter.
A Neiman Marcus store, part of the Saks business – Neiman Marcus
GoldenTree, which is founded by billionaire Steve Tananbaum, has committed to buy a roughly $200 million portion of the so-called debtor-in-possession financing, according to the report.
Saks Global and GoldenTree did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment.
The high-end US department store conglomerate filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on January 13, after a debt-laden takeover.
Warped, a proudly Australian menswear brand, made its debut at the recent Pitti Uomo 109, unveiling its first-ever collection for Autumn–Winter 2026/27. Warped channels a strong, functional and authentic masculinity, free of artifice: a man capable of moving with equal ease through the Australian outback or a metropolis, without ever betraying himself. This vision translates into a collection that combines ready-to-wear, streetwear and active-functional pieces, underpinned by rigorous material research, responsible production, and a strong connection to Australia’s history and identity.
Jack Cassidy Williams, right, wearing Warped alongside one of his sons
The brand is so steeped in the free-spirited, authentic ethos of Mitch “Crocodile” Dundee, a cult figure of 1980s cinema who helped shape the image abroad of the no-nonsense Australian, that even the founder- who arrived in Milan with his two sons, aged 18 and 15, already active in the company- looks like the very character created by Paul Hogan.
“Crocodile Dundee is not just a film to us; it’s a way of being in the world. It’s about a man who hunts crocodiles with his bare hands in the outback and stays true to himself even under the dazzling lights of the metropolis,” Warped founder Jack Cassidy Williams explained to FashionNetwork.com. “It’s the story of a man who enters a sophisticated system without changing who he is. Functional, direct, honest. This is who we are. We’re not here to bend to fashion’s unwritten rules, but to bring our own way of doing things: less artifice, more reality.”
Warped
“Everything in the collection is handmade by my family. We design it, select the fabrics, create the patterns, and develop everything together- my children and I- in Australia. Traditional garments with modern finishes, in terms of handle and functionality; we even offer waterproof clothing, such as GOTS-certified waterproof cotton. Then there’s denim. All the fabrics are 100% made in Italy,” Cassidy Williams continues. At the heart of the collection is extensive fabric research: 100% RWS wool; high-stretch scuba fabrics and bi-stretch wool; cotton denim with a 3D weave effect; water-repellent cottons, viscose and viscose/linen blends for suits, jackets and trousers; high-performance, ultra-comfortable fabrics; and kangaroo-leather laces- a material five times as strong as cowhide- hand-finished with raw edges and authentic details.
“The collection is, in a way, a tribute to America, because the theme is the so-called ramblin’ man, or the free man; it’s basically about my whole life,” says the Australian entrepreneur. “All those people who decided to forge their own journey, to walk the path of life without following someone else. Like Hank Williams, Jack Kerouac, Duke Ellington, Bird, Muddy Waters, Pinetop, or Woody Guthrie- men who honoured life. Nowadays it’s so difficult to be free that freedom really is a state of mind. It’s our first collection through and through; we practically finished it before boarding the plane,” Cassidy Williams laughs heartily, then slips on a floppy wide-brimmed hat, slings a kangaroo hide over his shoulder and, as he pretends to crack a whip in the air, looks even more like Mitch Dundee- all after letting us taste a kangaroo salami and crocodile snacks…
Warped
“Our family has a textile tradition of great depth- more than sixty years- so Warped also works with the best global manufacturers in the mid-luxury segment: lace from France, fabrics from Italy, and other high-quality materials sourced from factories in Turkey, Japan and Korea,” Jack Cassidy Williams continues. “These factories were chosen not for trend’s sake, but because they’re unique- each one different from the next.”
Warped’s menswear collection for Autumn–Winter 2026/27 comprises around 40 looks spanning ready-to-wear, streetwear, and active-functional pieces. Jackets, suits, trousers, shorts, shirts, and T-shirts sit alongside a street and sportswear offer that includes hoodies, joggers and technical garments, all designed to be comfortable, durable, easy to care for, and genuinely wearable day to day.
Alongside the Warped men’s line, the company presented the Golden Age Sportswear (G.A.S) label in Milan, while the Warped Woman, and G.A.S Woman’s Street collections will debut in Italy from next Spring/Summer.
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Two indie fashion brands, Auralee from Japan and Études Studio from France, staged highly contrasting collections on Tuesday, the opening day of Paris Fashion Week Men, testifying to the dynamism of the season in the French capital.
Auralee: Purist fashion with polish
A moment of grace on Tuesday evening at Auralee, where Ryota Iwai’s deceptively understated designs never fail to impress.
Auralee’s answer to its question: “What makes winter joyful?” – Luca Tombolini
Staged in the Musée de l’Homme facing an illuminated Eiffel Tower, the show was the latest pure statement by a designer whose clothes blend subtlety with refinement.
Whatever fabric Iwai plays with always seems just right: whether speckled Donegal tweeds seen in brown knit pants for guys, or a frayed hem skirt for girls in this co-ed show. Leather or lambskin jerkins and baseball jackets, all were ideal.
Semi-transparent nylon splash vests or wispy trenches had real cool. While Iwai’s detailing was also very natty- like the flight jacket trimmed with fur.
A women’s look by Auralee – Luca Tombolini
He is also a great colourist- from the washed-out sea green of a canvas ranger’s jacket to the moody Mediterranean blue of a caban. Though his finale featured a quintet of looks in black. Most charmingly a languid, deconstructed double-breasted cashmere coat worn on a shirtless model- the picture of perfection.
There were perhaps not that many sartorial fireworks in the show, but there didn’t need to be. This was a purist fashion statement of polish and precision that this audience could only admire.
Backed up by a great soundtrack – Sounding Line 6 by Moritz. Von Oswald or the cutely named Autumn Sweater by Yo La Tengo- the whole display won Ryota a loud and long ovation. Fully deserved too.
Études Studio: Resonating in IRCAM
Études Studio certainly know how to stage a show. The design duo invited guests into the bowels of the Institute for Research and Coordination in Acoustics/Music, or IRCAM a unique French concept dedicated to experimental sounds.
A look by Études Studio – Collective Parade – Gaspar J. Ruiz Lidberg
Which we enjoyed a lot of thanks to Darren J. Cunningham, a British electronic musician known professionally as Actress. It made for a dramatic mood, as keys and chords swelled and raged throughout this show.
As a result, the design duo of Aurélien Arbet and Jérémie Egry titled this Autumn/Winter 2027 collection ‘Résonances.’ Terming it in their program: “A medley bringing into dialogue the minimalist experiments rooted in John Cage’s philosophy with the emergence of intelligent Dance Music in the early 1990s.”
The result was a rather moody series of clothes, made in a sombre palette of muddy brown, dark purple, black, black, and even more black.
Muted tones at Études Studio – Collective Parade – Gaspar J. Ruiz Lidberg
What stood out were the bulbous, off-the-shoulder puffers, worn over corduroy shirts or roll-necks- topped by some great rancher hats courtesy of Lambert. One could also admire sleek raingear; cool cocoon shaped jerkins and fuzzy mohair sweaters. And appreciate a sleek A-Line coat and zippered knit safari jacket in a rare women’s look in this show.
Photoshopped faces in black and white scarves all looked very appealing, as did the brand’s debut bag, a satchel in tough canvas. And one had to applaud one great dull gold, wildly deconstructed puffer.
That said, the collection lacked proper kick and rarely resonated as the show title suggested it would. A decent statement about the mode, but far from a fashion moment.