Picture Perfect
STYLE, SASSINESS AND PERFECTION ARE WORDS SYNONYMOUS WITH ONE OF BANGKOK’S BIGGEST IT-GIRLS AND HOTEL HEIRESS, SIKANYA “PAU” SAKTIDEJ BHANUBANDH. parisa pichitmarn GETS UP CLOSE TO UNCOVER THE SECRETS OF HER PICTURE-PERFECT LIFE
FOR A WOMAN WHO ISconstantly described by people around her as flawlessly precise or on fleek, it is a rare privilege to witness Sikanya “Pau” Saktidej Bhanubandh sans makeup, in bright yellow sweats and a white tee. It’s a fully-lined up afternoon: in between our chit-chat, her close friend’s assistant has also come in for measurements for lay pants (Pau chose a creamy gold hue and insists on a very, very big bow), before her makeup artist arrives to touch her up for a performance gala she will be attending later that evening. We meet in one of the suites furthest down the hall inside the Renaissance Bangkok Ratchaprasong Hotel, where she usually gets dressed before hitting events about town. The outfit may be a disarmingly uncommon sight when it comes from one of Bangkok’s most stylishly dressed women, but the vivacious personality behind it is still intact. Sprightly and not one to mince her words, it comes as a surprise that anyone around her would see her as a Spice Girl. Pau is stunned by the comparison, before uttering, “Then I better be Victoria Beckham!” Those who wouldn’t know any better might have drawn a similar connection. The eldest daughter of M.R. Tim and Sirikarn Saktidej Bhanubandh is one of society’s main staples, usually seen around her equally beautiful pack of A-list friends at the hottest restaurant openings, grand launches and fashion shows around Bangkok. And if she is there, the least you should expect is she is always dressed to kill. “Deep down, I think I’m very minimal, but my friends would say, ‘Huh, are you kidding,’” Pau laughs. “I don’t wear prints and colours. But I dress impeccably because I know I don’t have the best figure – I know I’m not a supermodel who can wear a 50-Baht shirt and still look great. It needs to be well cut and it takes a bit more effort so I think about it more.” Like a more sexy version of her style icons such as Coco Chanel, Jackie O and Audrey Hepburn by throwing in a bit more leg, Pau is usually donned in resplendent white or beige itsy-bitsy skirts or elegant gowns with dramatic slits. International high-end brands may fill her closet, but her selections for days that she is seen by the media or at events all hit closer to home. “I want it to be flawless, especially when it comes to eveningwear,” she explains. “I always wear Thai brands at events because I want to see them grow. We’re very close and love each other. For example, Sean [of Poem] knows me and knows my size and everything just comes out more precise. Do designers from international brands oversee your fittings or even know you? I think Thai people are so talented and can compete on an international level, so why wouldn’t you support someone close to you?” That she is dressed to the nines is also a result of being someone who is on both sides of the same coin. Now blissfully married for five years to her restaurateur husband, Na-chanok “Golf” Ratanadaros (54), Pau has had her share in helping him organise events for his dining outlets such as Pirate Chambre, Moom-muum Park, Chingcha Charlee and Pirate Arena, the latest hotspot in Thonglor. “Since I help out my own family and Golf too, I know how much work goes in and how tiring it is. The person who hosted it has put in a lot of effort, so the least you could do is to honour them and the venue by following the theme or dress code. My number one rule is I will never be dressed inappropriately. I try to look my best not for myself, but because I know how much effort people put into arranging something. I want them to see that I also made the effort to be there to support them.” Yet for all the picture-perfect appearances this modern society belle makes, in truth, much of Pau’s life today sees her perfectly content with ordering Line Man to the Sukhumvit
“NO MATTER WHAT I DO, I WANT TO BE A GOOD EXAMPLE AND THE RIGHT INFLUENCE”
condo where she lives with Golf and their Chihuahua, Austin. “My mum is quite confused because every time she calls me these days, I’m always at home. I just love Line Man and now that there’s Line Pay, I can finally order street food too,” the tone of her voice shifting to sheer enthusiasm when it comes to food – and her husband. “I eat like a horse. I could eat for England. Golf and I both love to eat and what we really enjoy lately is to seek out the best street dishes, such as khao moo krob. There isn’t just one main one when it comes to these things and every website has their own recommendation so we just order all 3-5 different ones to try them all and compare.” This simple happiness is pretty much all there is that goes on beneath the glossy veneer of the jet-set life that her 201,000 followers on Instagram can witness. There’s work too of course – where Pau helps her younger brother Patrick (29) oversee PR work and larger-scale events at their family’s Renaissance Bangkok Ratchaprasong Hotel as the senior vice president of PR. Mainly, however, it’s the Kipling retail business – her mother has been importing the brand since 1997 – that takes most of her time. As the current managing director of Kipling Thailand, Pau takes no monkey business and has been instrumental in shifting the company’s structure from a family-run style into a more organised, corporate one. She reckons that she naturally gravitated towards this line of the family business because of her personal connection to it. “I love monkeys because I was born in the Year of the Monkey. Of course, it has to be me who continues this!” Since taking over from her mother over half a decade ago, Pau has been behind over 50 store openings from its beginnings of 10, as well as initiating a sizable social media and online presence for these crinkled nylon bags from Antwerp. She clearly knows what she’s doing when it comes to social media, if her own personal account is any indication. “I’ve always been an art kid at heart so I like beautiful things and am very conscious of colour schemes,” referring to her Instagram posts of pastel-hued motivational quotes and blogger-worthy photographs that have been carefully curated in order to create a harmonious colour palette and addictive scroll.
It may have started out as a hobby, but it’s something Pau has taken a bit more seriously, upon realising that her digital footprint is no small one. Underneath lush holiday shots of gold-gilded arches in Russia, she has painstakingly typed up a comprehensive history of its significance, while photos of herself in Thai silk remind viewers that it’s about the village auntie who so meticulously weaved that fabric by hand – and not just about jumping on the bandwagon to being trendy. With a giggle, she confesses that it usually takes an hour for her to get those shots of her doing yoga – the only type of workout she engages in as of late. “It needs to be precise – even if only one person sees it, they still need to see the correct thing,” she emphasizes. “I double check every single shot with my instructor and will not post it if it’s not the right alignment, if my toes are off or if my legs are at the wrong angle. I feel like I have somewhat influenced people’s lives, so I try to use my social media as a platform to pass forward useful things to others. “I feel like the new generation these days is so influenced by what they see on social media and they think by themselves a lot. Everything we see these days also happens so fast and is on a shallow surface. I want to be a good influence so they think a bit deeper and to have a deeper appreciation for the little things in life. No matter what I do, I want to be a good example and the right influence.” But that’s just about all her perfectionism extends to these days. “I’m much less of a perfectionist these days ever since I got married,” Pau reflects. “I don’t want my husband to be annoyed with me! I’ve learned to let go of things more these days, because now I feel the second where you aren’t happy is already a passed one that you cannot take back. We can’t control anything in this world at all, but we can control our feelings and thoughts.”
“YOUR KNOWLEDGE SHOULD EXTEND OVER EVERYTHING – IT WILL GIVE YOU CONFIDENCE, EVEN IF YOU DON’T GET TO SAY ANYTHING AT ALL”
The 38-year-old is conscious that she was probably born with an inclination towards perfectionism. As the first grandchild of the Srikanchana family, Pau was practically raised by her excited maternal grandparents and doting aunt and uncle. Once bereft of anyone who would tutor her after her grandmother passed away when she was still studying at Mater Dei, she asked to continue her studies in the UK. “I was so homesick but couldn’t confess,” she looks back on her move with a laugh. “Truth was my grades [during Prathom 5] were slipping from 4.0 so I wanted to go study abroad and not have to deal with those tests anymore. If your kids want to do something, just let them do it before they change their mind. When it’s their own decision, it’s harder for them to turn back on that. I chose it for myself, so I just had to soldier through it.” After graduating from Roedean School in Brighton, she went to double major in Economics and Psychology for her undergrad at Syracuse University in New York. Upon returning to Bangkok, she became a familiar face in Thai households thanks to her first job as an anchor for Thailand’s first English language news program, Newsline, and Radio Thailand. There are career Everests she is proud to scale, such as covering forums such as APEC Summit, but even more challenging was her stint as one of the six hosts on Channel 3’s entertainment show, See San Banterng. As the one responsible for Hollywood news that didn’t come up until the very end of the segment, Pau recalls getting trashed on Pantip every single day, with viewers dismissing her as decorative tree branch that didn’t know anything. “At first I felt like I didn’t need to care about Thai soaps because I was only responsible for international news,” she recalls. “But when I started to watch soaps and Channel 3 more, I felt like I enjoyed work more and could mesh with my five co-hosts better. It taught me that no matter what you do, you need to have more knowledge than what you say out loud. Your knowledge should extend over everything – it will give you confidence, even if you don’t get to say anything at all. “I gave myself a condition that I would return to my family business only after I didn’t get trashed on Pantip for a whole month. I don’t want to leave anything on a bad note. Looking back, I never regretted any decisions I made, even if it was a bad one. I tried my best and I may not be the best anchor or the most famous, but it was to my best ability. I never want to have any what-ifs or regrets – it’s better to fail and cry and learn from my mistakes so I can do better next time. If I set out to do anything, I am completely serious about it.” The meeting is coming towards an end and before we part, Pau is eager to forward us excruciatingly detailed lists of fine dining destinations that she has compiled for her previous travels to Barcelona and Amsterdam – the best list of only the very best, if you will. Her assistant starts to lay show-stopping gowns out on the bed and as the makeup artist finally arrives to set up his professional light ring and dozens of brushes, it is a testament, again, that if Sikanya sets her mind to do anything, she gives it all her best.