PIPATCHARA Champions Circular Fashion and Artisan Empowerment in Northern Thailand

PIPATCHARA has turned a local craft vocabulary into a commercial engine for circular design and community work, converting recycled plastics and even 500 orange barrels into macramé handbags and interior installations while generating extended orders that benefit artisans in northern Thailand. The label has translated that practice into international visibility with pop-ups in New York, Paris, Tokyo and London and a London Fashion Week showcase in 2025.

The label was founded in Bangkok in 2018 by sisters Pipatchara Kaeojinda, nicknamed Petch, and Jittrinee Kaeojinda, nicknamed Tubtim. Petch, born December 21, 1989 in Bangkok, trained at Academy of Art University in San Francisco where she earned a BEA in Fashion Design and won a full scholarship to study at the École de la Chambre Syndicale de la Couture Parisienne. Her résumé lists paid and full roles with Ralph Lauren New York, Venessa Bruno in Paris, Givenchy in Paris and Jaspal in Bangkok before she returned to launch the eponymous label as Creative Director. Tubtim, born December 24, 1988 in Bangkok, holds a Master of Science in Negotiation and Conflict Resolution from Columbia University and a bachelor’s in Social Work from Thammasat University; her prior roles include community development at Ban Bangkaya Village in Phang Nga, a post at the Embassy of the Republic of Turkey, internship work at the United Nations in New York, mediation work at the Thailand Arbitration Center and leadership in business and human rights at the Issara Institute. Tubtim serves as Co-Founder and Sustainability Director.

Macramé knotting is the brand’s sartorial signature, with Travel + Leisure noting the label “prides itself on 100 per cent handmade patterns.” PIPATCHARA began by collecting recycled water bottle lids and evolved into pieces that combine plant-based fibres and reclaimed plastics; The Cool Down reported a handbag line made entirely from recycled plastic with prices starting at $99. Koktailmagazine catalogues the sisters’ experimental projects, from an Infinitude installation made into curtains, chandeliers and lamps using 500 orange barrels to Aqua-R-Us objects and can openers fashioned from recycled fishing nets, and the team has stated they are exploring materials “beyond orphan plastics.”

Artisan partnerships are central to the model. The brand works with villages in northern Thailand, teaching knotting patterns and passing on craft skills so that production remains handmade while creating livelihoods and pride for local makers. Travel + Leisure states that “every piece is made by local communities of Thailand,” and the label reports those collaborations have translated into extended orders for artisans, giving work continuity beyond one-off projects.

Collaborations on the commercial front have reinforced the ethos. Pakorn “Boy” Chatborirak, founder of the venue What’s Happened?, staged the first interiors showcase of the label and praised the work: “Pipatchara is both conscious and beautiful. It connects with us because I also want to address the issue of waste in the F&B industry. Together with Pipatchara’s team and Petch herself, we’ve worked to foster a more conscious mindset.” Pop-ups in global capitals and the 2025 London Fashion Week exposure have broadened demand even as the sisters keep production rooted in northern Thailand.

Petch and Tubtim frame the brand as a social project as much as a fashion house. “Pipatchara is the brand for the community - not just our craftmanship team in the north of Thailand, but also for everyone who has the same thought and mutual goal for sustainability,” Petch says, adding that the label aims to make sustainability “a layer that gets blended in any aspect of life.” For press inquiries or to contact the brand directly, PIPATCHARA lists contact@pipatchara.com and maintains an Instagram presence at @pipatchara.