Bangkok: Unlocking the Jim Thompson mystique – Global haute fashion veteran Gerald Mazzalovo has taken the helm of the country’s premier silk brand to show that the zenith of luxury is on hand in Thailand.
Jim Thompson is a bit of a national champion, and everyone had been waiting for us to wake up and come to a more contemporary level, says Mr Mazzalovo.
.
‘Don’t write about me,” he says. “I don’t have a model life. I don’t think it is worth writing about something that’s somehow banal: I just have a good life, a good wife and an independent head.”
His voice moves in a cadence marked by the remnants of his French accent, which seems to squeeze the later half of most every word.
“Ferragamo, Gucci, Louis Vuitton,” his raspy voice hurries to finish off, “we are on the same level of luxury.”
The man, invariably framed in dark suit, dark shirt, and abundant scruff, is Gerald Mazzalovo. As for the brands he rattled off, they are among those he presided over before taking the top position at Jim Thompson, the luxury Thai silk company, last year.
Mr Mazzalovo made a name for himself as an avid supporter of heritage-based brand equity, and pushed firms like Loewe to the international sphere by emphasising their historic and symbolic value.
A Frenchman by birth and Italian by blood, he started his career as a professor in Phnom Penh in 1971. Four years later, he collected an MBA from Columbia, and made the move to management consulting.
.
Mr Mazzalovo shows off a luxury handbag at Jim Thompson Siam Paragon.
.
Luxurious silk accessories, handbags and fabrics are available at the Jim Thompson outlet in Siam Paragon Shopping Centre.
.
Mr Mazzalovo relaxes with his dogs.
.
Mr Mazzalovo is seen with his family at Jim Thomson Farm.
.
Raw materials for silk are displayed at the shop.
.
.
His transition to the fashion world was, by all accounts, a mere coincidence. “I moved from Asia and started working in Milan under what became Accenture [a consultancy company], and one of the partners… read more @ https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/news/1350138/unlocking-the-jim-thompson-mystique
Please credit and share this article with others using this link:https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/news/1350138/unlocking-the-jim-thompson-mystique. View our policies at http://goo.gl/9HgTd and http://goo.gl/ou6Ip. © Post Publishing PCL. All rights reserved.
Courtesy: The Bangkok Post | NEWSPAPER SECTION: BUSINESS | WRITER: JESUS ALCOCER | 28 Oct 2017 at 04:00
