They say that youth is wasted on the young. Not in this case. Nineteen year old Rukpong Raimaturapong from Thailand may be a youngster, but that's not stopping him from getting his feet wet in the sea of design, photography and fashion.
With a keen eye for details, Rukpong creates and captures images that are nostalgic, fresh and beautiful - all at the same time. Because of this, top Thai labels have noticed his talent and have asked him to create their websites. Not bad for someone who's only 19, don't you think?
What do you do?I am a student at the Faculty of Fine and Applied Arts, Chulalongkorn University. I’m also a part-time web designer and developer. I have done websites for
27 Friday / 27 Nov. and
Shake Appeal.
Shake Appeal
27 FridayDescribe your personal style.My personal style is pretty basic and minimal. I like to wear a simple shirt with a pair of tailored pants.
Hand made bow tieWho or what inspires your personal style? I get inspired from different sources. But I get lots of ideas from people I see on the street. In a city like Bangkok, it’s fun to see some good and bad examples.
What is the piece of clothing in your wardrobe that best represents you? A plain, over sized pastel blue t-shirt. It goes with everything I own and it’s unbelievably comfortable.
If your wardrobe could only contain one brand, what would it be?I’d like to have Gaspard Yurkievich, especially their Memphis SS08 collection. I loved many pieces from that collection. Too bad as a student I can’t afford any of that right now.
What are the five things you don't leave home without? My Nikon D40x camera (not pictured) - I don’t write, but I do take a hell of a lot of pictures.
Wallet and watch – Something that I just can’t leave home without.
Samsung E590 – The PDA that I’ve been using for three years died recently so I got this sleek, black phone by Jasper Morrison to take its place.
Lenovo Y450 Notebook – My life is in there and I take it with me everywhere.
Muji planner – Everything is in here: my expenses, my income - this little notebook is really important to me.
Daily essentialsWhere would you like to live? I would definitely like to live in New York. The city has everything: fashion, culture and music. What more can a designer want? It has always been my dream to live there since I was a kid. I hope that someday I can be there.
What's the best thing about living in Bangkok?Bangkok is a weird city. It wasn’t planned, its more than 200 years old, there’s over ten million people. So each day, you’ll never know what you’ll see or experience. Whether it’s a dog wearing shoes, bumping into a star at Paragon or a traffic jam that lasts two hours. You’ll never know what you’ll see today. This is what makes Bangkok such a wonderful and exciting place to live.
And the worst?Probably the cost of living. I live right in the city center surrounded by malls and department stores. It’s hard to control my daily budget.
Lonely in Bangkok?What makes Bangkok a stylish city for you? Bangkok is known for its shopping and big malls that contain international designers, but is also home to many talented local designers. You can get cool clothes that don't cost as much. As a local, the best thing to do is to support local designers.
What are you thankful for at the end of the day? I managed to finish my homework as well as my freelance work.
"We were supposed to make the world a better place"
Thank you, Rukpong!You can see more of his photos
here.
Click on the images above for a larger view.
