LA MODE EN MAJESTÉ ROYAL THAI DRESS FROM TRADITION TO MODERNITY

The exhibition highlighting the development of Thai court dress and its place on the international stage

Text: M. Zisso; Photo: Archive

From May 13 to November 1, 2026, the Musée des Arts Décoratifs, in Paris, presents, under the high patronage of Her Royal Highness Princess Sirivannavari Nariratana Rajakanya, the exhibition La Mode en Majesté. Royal Thai Dress from Tradition to Modernity.

This project offers an unprecedented reading of the evolution of dress at the Thai court, from the 1960s to the present day. Nearly 200 pieces, dresses and accessories designed primarily by the couturier Pierre Balmain and the house of Lesage, as well as by Thai designers, highlight the development of Thai court dress and its place on the international stage.

Objects, textiles, and photographs from the royal collections complete this presentation. Through the prism of fashion, the exhibition analyses the role of costume as a cultural and diplomatic language. Presented for the first time in France, these court wardrobes, structured around the eight formats of traditional costume, were conceived by Her Majesty Queen Sirikit, in collaboration with Thai historians and designers.

The exhibition is organized in partnership with the Queen Sirikit Museum of Textiles (QSMT) and The Sustainable Arts and Crafts Institute of Thailand (SACIT) as part of the celebrations marking the 340th anniversary of the first diplomatic mission and the 170th anniversary of diplomatic relations between France and Thailand, formerly the Kingdom of Siam.

Committed to the preservation of craftsmanship, Queen Sirikit created the SUPPORT Foundation in 1976, dedicated to safeguarding textile arts and handicrafts. Today, under the patronage of Her Majesty Queen Suthida, the Foundation continues this mission, while Her Royal Highness Princess Sirivannavari Nariratana Rajakanya extends its legacy through her commitment to contemporary creation and support for Thai designers.

Queen Sirikit and the Modernization of Court Attire

From the first Siamese embassies to the Court of France to contemporary collaborations in the fields of art, haute couture, fashion, and textiles, these exchanges contribute to the representation of Thailand and France on the international stage. The exhibition pathway considers fashion as a form of cultural diplomacy, based on image, materials, and craftsmanship. Thai silks and ceremonial attire gained international visibility through collaborations with Parisian couture, while French expertise in turn contributed to the global dissemination of Thai textiles, in a relationship founded on reciprocity and creative exchange.

Thailand and France: Fashion as Cultural Diplomacy

The exhibition opens with the 1960s, a period during which Her Majesty Queen Sirikit maintained close relations with the great French couture houses and undertook an official visit to France with her husband, King Rama IX. She played a decisive role in the modernization of court attire, presenting her creations during official trips made in 1960 to 14 European countries and the United States. With the couturier Pierre Balmain, she developed a new expression of Thai royal elegance, reconciling fidelity to heritage with international openness. The exhibition presents a selection of pieces from the wardrobes of the royal family, offering insight into the richness of Thai textile traditions and accessories.

Queen Sirikit: The Image of a Nation

The exhibition is structured around the wardrobe of Her Majesty Queen Sirikit, whose style and modernity profoundly influenced the international perception of Thailand at a pivotal moment in its history. In the 1960s, her appearances during state visits, particularly abroad, attracted the attention of the international press, making her an emblematic figure whose elegance extended beyond the diplomatic sphere. In the context of the post–Second World War period, as Thailand reaffirmed its place on the world stage under the reign of King Bhumibol Adulyadej (Rama IX), clothing became a vehicle of identity affirmation, combining refinement and cultural continuity.

Celebrations of Hands: Crafts and Accessories

An essential section of the exhibition is dedicated to Thai craftsmanship, focusing on the techniques and processes used to create the accessories and decorative elements that accompany Thai court dress today.

Selected craft objects are presented alongside close-up videos of the making process, offering insight into the skilled hands, methods, and material knowledge behind court attire and its continued influence on contemporary creation. The practices highlighted include lipao weaving, folding fan painting, niello work, and gold damascening — crafts historically associated with court culture and still used today in the making of refined accessories accompanying Thai dress — as well as Bencharong ceramic painting, presented within the broader context of royal decorative arts. The preservation of these traditions is closely linked to the work of the SUPPORT Foundation, established to safeguard traditional skills and support sustainable livelihoods for rural artisans. Through longterm support, training, and market development, the Foundation plays a central role in the transmission and continuity of craft practices. In addition, a programme of demonstrations by Thai master artisans will be presented at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs.

Thai Fashion Today: Contemporary Thai Dress

The exhibition presents Thai fashion as a constantly evolving tradition. Alongside historical pieces associated with Queen Sirikit, it also brings together outfits worn or commissioned by Her Majesty Queen Suthida and Her Royal Highness Princess Sirivannavari Nariratana Rajakanya. These works testify to the continuity of the principles established under the reign of Queen Sirikit — clarity of form, mastery of textiles, reinterpretation of traditional dress — which continue to nourish contemporary creation and the international influence of Thai fashion.

The exhibition concludes with a presentation of contemporary Thai designers, heirs and interpreters of this still deeply rooted and living tradition. The creations of the house SIRIVANNAVARI, founded by Her Royal Highness Princess Sirivannavari Nariratana Rajakanya, enter into dialogue with those of designers such as ASAVA, VATIT ITTHI, WISHARAWISH, TIRAPAN, and MESHMUSEUM.

These works inscribe Thai dress in the present and the future, affirming the voice of contemporary Thai creation within international fashion ecosystems.

Modern National Heritage: Pierre Balmain and Haute Couture

For her state visits abroad, Her Majesty Queen Sirikit entrusted Pierre Balmain with the design of a wardrobe capable of translating Thai heritage through the craftsmanship of the French house. The couturier approached Thai attire as a true haute couture composition, conducting an in-depth study of forms, proportions, and textiles, derived from a tradition based on wrapping and draping rather than Western tailoring. Working with Thai silk, brocade, mat mii (ikat), and embroidery, he developed silhouettes suited to international official contexts, both deeply rooted in tradition and open to modernity. The exhibition reveals, for the first time, the process of work and research between Her Majesty Queen Sirikit, the House of Balmain, the House of Lesage, and the SUPPORT Foundation through drawings and samples of textiles and embroidery.

Partnerships and copyrights

La Mode en Majesté. Royal Thai Dress from Tradition to Modernity. is organized in partnership with the Musée des Arts Décoratifs (MAD), the Queen Sirikit Museum of Textiles (QSMT), and the Sustainable Arts and Crafts Institute of Thailand (SACIT).

Curators

Béatrice Quette, Curator of the Asian and Islamic collections assisted by Astrid Novembre, Exhibition assistant, and Louise Lartillot, Curator assistant bourse du Japon

The curator team at the Queen Sirikit Museum of Textiles, in collaboration with SACIT

(Sustainable Arts and Crafts Institute of Thailand)
• Piyavara Teekara Natenoi Director, Queen Sirikit Museum of Textiles
• Sappasit Foongfaungchaveng Independent Curator
• Sarttarat Muddin Chief Curator & Educator, Queen Sirikit Museum of Textiles
• Alisa Saisavetvaree Curator, Queen Sirikit Museum of Textiles
• Conservation & Registration Team Queen Sirikit Museum of Textiles — Les Arts Décoratifs

Paris, Patrimoine Balmain ©️ Patrimoine Balmain, Collection of Her Majesty Queen Sirikit, Collection of SIRIVANNAVARI

The not-for-profit organization Les Arts Décoratifs brings together the Musée des Arts Décoratifs, the Musée Nissim de Camondo, the Camondo School, the Ateliers du Carrousel, and the Library.

• Lionel Sauvage, President
• Sophie-Justine Lieber, Chief Executive Officer
• Camille Herody, Deputy Chief Executive Officer
• Bénédicte Gady, Museum Director, Deputy Chief Executive Officer.

Musée des Arts Décoratifs
107 rue de Rivoli,
75001 Paris
+33 (0) 1 44 55 57 50
Métro: Palais-Royal