esearch on the Thai

hon of Thailand: Implementation of Thai

Khon Costume to the High-end Fashion Design

Hu Jia

Faculty of Decorative Arts, Silpakorn University,Talingchan,Bangkok ,Thailand

Keywords: Thai Khon costume, mask, Traditional handwork, hign-end fashion design

Abstract: Thai Traditional drama（Khon）clothing is shaping the role internal abstract the artistic skill of, to show the

role of identity,age,temperament and characteristics,and show the art works of traditional drama in particular

period, customs and delineate the situation and attach it belongs to the traditional drama play the art of drama

clothing, belonging to the "congeniality art system" to "realistic characters expressing" work as the highest

aesthetic pursuit of the goal, has the very strong situation beauty and artistic conception beauty. Thai Khon

costume exquisite peerless format design,Colourful coloring and delicate embroidery patterns, thick and

heavy makeup appearance to Thailand's clothing culture left precious wealth, also become the ancient costume

design on the eve of a major inspiration origin at the same time. This study is intended to research on a method

of implementation of the traditional Thai Khon costume elements in the hign-end fashion design, which

related to the characteristics and civilization of Thai Khon clothing, To explore the aesthetic meaning of the

form beauty, the image beauty and the artistic conception beauty of the Thai Khon costume. The development

of Thai Khon costume is summarized and arranged systematically.Summarize the features and cultural

connotations of Thai Khon costume.And stylized, dancer, and decorative features. Through the in-depth

research of the style, color, pattern, fabric and accessories in the Thai Khon, Combined with high-end fashion

design,Create a new design model,In order to promote the protection, Inheritance, promotion and innovation

of traditional culture.

1 INTRODUCTION

Thai khon is a representative of Thai traditional

culture, It integrates various art forms such as

dance,music, poetry, painting, martial arts, and

shadow play, Is the most beautiful dance art in

Thailand.

Thai khon is the epitome of ancient Siamese art,

It contains almost the most important elements of

Thai classical culture. Thai khon is framed by the

elegance of court dramas, Integrate active and lively

folk art and Classics, plus classical stringed

instruments, flute, etc. as score, Unique and full of

Siamese glory.

Thai Khon, as the intangible cultural heritage of

Thailand, is inherited and promoted. Thai Khon.

costume and sculpt to Thailand's clothing culture left

precious wealth.Thai Traditional drama（Khon）

clothing is shaping the role internal abstract the

artistic skill of, has the very strong situation beauty

and artistic conception beauty. This research

classified in the Research Platform: Research on

Design.

Figure 1: Thai Khon performance.

2 KHON IS A ART OF THAI

TRADITIONAL STAGE

PERFORMANCE

Khon is a art of Thai traditional stage performance, it

is a high-class Thai performing art that has been

passed on since ancient times. The elegant dance

Jia, H.

Research on the Thai Khon of Thailand: Implementation of Thai Khon Costume to the High-end Fashion Design.

DOI: 10.5220/0008546601150122

In Proceedings of the 1st International Conference on Interdisciplinary Arts and Humanities (ICONARTIES 2019), pages 115-122

ISBN: 978-989-758-450-3

115

moves, the sound from a classical Thai orchestra

ensemble, the delicate costume embroidery, and its

story weave extraordinary visuals and soundscapes

that mesmerize audiences.

2.1 “Khon” is a Precious Performing

Art and Legacy of the Nation

“Khon” is a precious performing art and legacy of the

nation. It is not as common these days to have an

opportunity to attend a Khon performance because of

how many resources it takes to create a production-

effort on literature, performing arts, handicraft, and

costume. However, for those interested in attending

the original Khon, performances in honor of Queen

Sirikit are held regularly since 2009, with a

collaboration between the Foundation for the

Promotion of Supplementary Occupations and

Related Techniques of Her Majesty Queen Sirikit of

Thailand, and public and private sector sponsors, in

order to preserve and prolong this cultural legacy for

years to come.

2.2 Khon's History

The history of Khon’s origins are a bit muddled, but

its presence was recorded in the late 1600s in the

archives of Simon de La Loubere. Who visited the

Ayutthaya Kingdom. His diary described Khon as,

“the dance to the rhythm of classical Thai orchestra,

where performers wear a mask and carry a weapon.”

Initially, Khon had been exclusively performed by

male performers, however women joined later. The

Khon masks had also been worn by every performer,

both male and female, until they were removed, and

replaced with headpieces, crowns, and tiaras to

indicate the character’s status.

2.3 Classification of Khon

Khon is, and has been, divided into five categories:

Outdoor Khon, performed outdoors on a field and no

exact stage area; Outdoor Theater Khon, sometimes

called Bench Khon, performed on a stage covered

with a roof and a pole laid horizontally before the

stage screen; Screen Khon, performed on a stage with

a shadow play scerrn, the performance-known as

“shadow with Khon attached”-will switch between

dancers and the shadow play; Royal Theater Khon, a

fusion between Khon and Lakhon Nai, a traditional

stage play, where performers will sing and dance; and

Scenery Khon which features screens and props on

the stage.

2.4 The Story of Khon

The plot of the Ramakien narrative revolves around

the King of the Demons known as Thotsakan having

abducted the beautiful Nang Sita, wife of Phra Rama.

Her princely husband asks Thotsakan to restore her to

him, but the demon king demurs and keeps her as a

hostage in a beautiful garden in the Kingdom of

Lanka. Thus begins the mighty war between the

armies of Thotsakan and Phra Rama. Performances of

the Ramakien make use of a huge cast, as we know,

and many battles are lost and won. The exquisite

costumes, the Khon masks, as well as the dance and

music are nothing less than breathtaking.

3 KHON IS BASED ON THE EPIC

OF RAMAYANA

Thai Khon is a representative of Thai traditional

culture,is the essence of Thailand.The early Thai

Khon is a court dance that only royals can admire,is

the peak representative of Thai traditional drama and

dance.

Thai Khon originated in the Ayutthaya period of

Thailand more than 400 years ago. "Khon" is the

expression of Thai dance drama, "Khon" also means

mime, is a masked dance drama. It was influenced by

the art of the ancient Indian《Rāmāyaṇa》, the actors

perform stylized gestures and rich facial expressions.

Khon assumed to be started its history in the

Ayutthaya period, Borommakod rama. That piriod,

the royal belived in Bharm-Hindu that the king as if

the god. Therefore in this period, the gold mask had

been covered to the king's body after passed away.

Because the belive in next life, the king would have

very graceful face and body. On one hand this period

of "Khom" kingdom , King Suriyaworaman (now in

Cambodia, Angkor Wat) had influenced Siam.

Ramayana has also influenced to thailand's nabour

countries such as Cambodia, Laos, Mynmar,

Indonisia.

4 CHARACTERS FOUND IN

KHON CAN BE CATEGORIZED

INTO FOUR GROUPS

4.1 Male Main Characters

This group consists of angels, kings, noblemen,and

human servants and soldiers. The character’s social

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status will be indicated by their costume and

headpiece. Among important characters is Rama, the

protagonist who is the eldest son of king Dasharatha,

the king of Ayodhya and his chief Queen, Kausalya.

Having a bow as his personal weapon, he possesses a

green body with the most handsome look of all kings.

Legend has it that Rama is the reincarnation of

Narayana, a Hindu god.

4.2 Female Main Characters

This group consists of angels, Queens, and court

ladies. Their statuses are reflected through their

costume as well. The most important character in this

category is Sita, the lady whose beauty is greater than

any heaven creatures and her loyalty to her husband

is nobler than anything. She is the reincarnation of the

goddess Lakshmi, the wife of Narayana.

4.3 Giant Characters

Consisting of the king of the giants and his troop,

these characters will wear a mask that can also reflect

their social status. An important character in this

category is Dashakantha, a then-face green giant with

twenty arms. He rules the city of Lanka and kidnaps

Sita from Rama, which sparks the war between the

giants and Rama’s troop.

4.4 Monkey Characters

The king of monkeys, monkey soldiers, and wild

monkeys are in the group. Their appearance on the

masks, including mouth shape, body color, and

headpiece, will be different in each character.

Hanuman is the right-hand soldier of Rama. This

albino monkey character is very powerful and has the

ability to travel in the air, transform and enlarge its

appearance. He is believed to be immortal because he

is the son of the wind-god, Vayu. When he is in a fatal

danger, he will recover to the normal stage when the

wind blows.

5 KHON CLOTHING IS

GORGEOUS AND EXPENSIVE

This is directly related to its origin from the court. The

actor wore a pagoda hat, wore a skein, and wore gold,

the costumes of the actors are hand-embroidered and

decorated with gold and silver threads. It takes a few

months or even half a year for a piece of clothing to

be completed, The price is up to 50,000 baht.

Thai Traditional drama（Khon）clothing is

shaping the role internal abstract the artistic skill of,

It has the very strong situation beauty and artistic

conception beauty. Thai Khon clothing has left a

valuable asset for Thai clothing culture. Khon fabrics

choose traditional Thai silk, It has long been famous

in the world for hand-woven, and is Thailand's most

famous and most expensive commodity. Thai silk is

of superior quality, soft and colorful, with special

luster and oriental fabrics. Khon clothing chooses

handmade beads, according to the character traits,

design exclusive patterns, using traditional beading

methods, sewing on clothing. Eg: The character

Hanuman uses the monkey hair as an inspiration to

design the pattern.

Figure 2: Thai Khon character

5.1 Costume for Male Character

Figure 3: Thai Khon character

1)Anklet; 2)Trousers; 3)Brocade tunic worn over

trousers; 4)Side sash; 5)Tight-fitting jacket covering

torso; 6)Waist sash; 7)External loin cloth; 8)Dagger

ornament; 9)Bejewelled; 10)Collar; 11)Cheat

pendant; 12)Epaulet; 13)Armlet; 14)Cloth chest

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117

chain; 15)Ornament at the end of sash; 16)Headdress;

17)Diamond flower fixed to headdress(left side of

head); 18)Decorative earpiece; 19)Flower(right side

of head); 20)Floral tassel(right side of head);

21)Ring; 22)Bracelet; 23)Beads; 24)Bangles

5.2 Costume for Female Character

Figure 4: Thai Khon character

1)Anklet; 2)Undergarment; 3)Embroidered outer

garment; 4)Belt; 5)Sash; 6)Embroidered cloak;

7)Collar; 8)Pendant; 9)Armlet; 10)Bracelet;

11)Beads; 12)Elaborate gold bracelet; 13)Bangles;

14)Ring; 15)Headdress; 16)Decorative earpiece;

17)Flower(left side of head); 18)Floral tassel(left side

of head)

5.3 Costume for Demon Character

Figure 5: Thai Demon character

1)Anklet; 2)Trousers; 3)External loin cloth worn over

trousers; 4)Side sash; 5)Cloth hanging from back at

waist; 6)Top; 7)Waist band; 8)Front cloth; 9)Belt;

10)Armour-like breast plate; 11)Epaulet; 12)Collar;

13)Breast Pendant; 14)Sash; 15)Pendant at end of

sash; 16)Bracelet; 17)Beads; 18)Bangles; 19)Bead

necklace; 20)Khon mask of Thotsakan; 21)Ring;

22)Bow.

5.4 Costume for Monkey Character

Figure 6: Thai Monkey character

1)Anklet; 2)Trousers; 3)External loin cloth worn over

trousers; 4)Side sash; 5)Monkey tail; 6)Cloth hanging

from back at waist; 7)Top with ornaments

representing monkey hair; 8)Waist band;

9)Decorative front cloth; 10)Belt; 11)Collar;

12)Pendant; 13)Sash; 14)Pendant at end of sash;

15)Armlet; 16)Bracelet; 17)Beads; 18)Bangles;

19)Khon mask for Hanuman; 20)Trident

6 KHON MASKS

Khon masks have been in use since the late Ayudhya

period, from the time of the reign of King Bornma-

kote(r.1742-1743) up to the current Rattanakosin

period(1872-). During the reign of King

RamaⅡ(1809-1824) the arts flourished and so the

Khon dance was at its height. This was also a time in

which the art of making Khon masks flourished.

6.1 Different Categories of Faces

6.1.1 The Faces of Humans and Deities

The shapes of the Khon masks for humans and deities

are relatively similar to the shapes of the faces of

ordinary human beings, but the details of the Khon

faces and ears are painted in a stylised manner. Both

humans and deities have smiling and relaxed faces.

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The smiles and moustaches curve upwards. The

hermit faces are particularly cheerful looking.

6.1.2 The Faces of Non-humans

These comprise mostly Thotsakan and his army of

demons, the Rakshasa, who are the lowest level of

demons, and a few sets of unearthly or celestial

characters, especially amalgamated humanoid-

animalic mythological creatures. The demon face is

basically modelled on the human face, but the

expressions are of anger and hatred since demons are

choleric and short-tempered.

6.1.3 The Faces of Monkeys and Various

Animals

These are classified into two categories: under the

rubric of the first type are those which cover the entire

head of the actor, such as the Khon masks of

Chomphuphan or Jambavan, “the King of the Bears”,

who is sometimes portrayed as a monkey and at other

times as a bear. It is of interest that Chomphuphan as

an ursine character is physically modelled on the sloth

or lablated bear of India and Sri Lanka. In Sanskrit,

the terms used for the sloth bear are riksha or

bhalluka. In as much as Chomphuphan is also famed

for his sagacity and supernatural powers, it is believed

that over the centuries the Sanskrit term “rishi”.

Khmer: eysey or rosei; used to refer to the famed

forest dwelling sages of Indic lore has been confused

with the Sanskrit term “riksha” qua sloth bear through

a long process of successive applications of folk

etymology through artless association. Another

example of Khon masks covering the entire head of

the actor is the mask worn by Phra Phikhanet, the

elephant-headed god. Still another type of mask

allows the face of the actor to be seen since it is worn

on the top of the head. Among such masks are those

for horses, lion-kings and cats. The monkey masks

are crafted to cover the whole head and are know for

being elaborate and exquisite. These stylised monkey

heads are based on the true characteristics of the

monkey in question. Finally, all of the stylised Khon

masks are likewise based on the real characteristics of

the characters represented.

6.2 Khon Mask Ornaments

The ornaments on the Khon masks inform the

audience of the status of those wearing the masks,

whether a monarch, prince, high official or lowly

weapon bearer, inter alios. The ornaments worn by

royal characters are based on royal ornaments

historically worn by Siamese royalty.

The crowns and headdresses of royal characters

are also modelled on those historically worn by

Siamese kings, queens, princes and princesses.

However, the ornaments worn by characters from

foreign lands differ from these in addition to the fact

that they differ from the crowns and headdresses

worn by both Thotsakan’s and Phra Rama’s armies

6.2.1 The Division into Pubpla or Rankings

Each monkey is assigned a rank with the ranks

extending from the royal monkeys with supernatural

powers to those who are ordinary weapon bearers.

Audiences can differentiate the rank of each monkey

by its headdress.

The yod chai or victory crown is worn by such

high ranking monkeys as Chompooparn, the

commanding general of the monkey troops, and

Chomphuphanrat, the monkey king. Monkeys such as

Pail and Sukreep wear the “yod bud” or “travelling

crown”.

The yod sam kleeb or three-petal topped crown

can be seen on the head of the monkey Ongkot. High

monkey officials are the “eighteen-crown” monkeys,

while Phra Rama’s most powerful soldiers wear the

flower emblem beside the kanjiak or decorative

earpiece.

The Tiaopet masks are masks of monkeys whose

heads are wrapped with cloths. The baldheads are

lacquered and pasted with gold leaves. There are nine

of these masks and Tiaopet monkey character wears

one of these masks. The exception to the rule is that

some craftsmen have created simple headdresses for

a few of these monkey characters.

The jungkiang are cloth scarves wrapped around the

heads of common monkeys.

Head cloths are worn by the ling ken or the rank-and-

file monkeys and the comedic monkey characters.

6.2.2 Mask Wearing

The Lanka or demon army members have facial

features that are far more detailed than those of the

monkey army allied with Phra Rama. However, this

does not mean that the demon army is quantitatively

larger than the monkey army. In view of the more

detailed, hence more variegated, facial features of the

demon monkeys, it has proven necessary to design

and create a whole host of different crowns and

headdresses for the demon characters.

The mongkut kab phai or the bamboo bract crown

is worn by the demons Ramasura and Tosakiriwan.

The mongkut haang lai or the headdress with an eel’s

tail emblem is worn by the demon Treemekha. The

mongkut yod jeep or the pleated-topped crown is

Research on the Thai Khon of Thailand: Implementation of Thai Khon Costume to the High-end Fashion Design

119

worn by the demons Phya Khorn and Sattasoon. The

mongkut haang kai or the cock’s tail-topped crown is

worn by the demons Wiroonjambang and Banlaijak.

Phya Thoot wears the mongkut yod kranok with the

special kranok design on the tail possessed by the

mythological half-human half-bird Kinnaree or

Kinnon. Kuwenurat and Paowanasoon wear the

mongkut yod nam tao klom or the round gourd-

topped crowns. The mongkut yod nam tao or the

common gourd-topped crowns are worn by such

demons as Pibhek and Chiwha. The mongkut yod

nam tao feung or a slightly different gourd-topped

crown is worn by Banlaikan and Wanyuwik. The

mongkut yod sam kleeb or the three-petal topped

crown is worn by Tapnasoon, Swahu and Maricha.

The mongkut yod naga or the serpent-topped crown

is worn by the demon Mangkornkan. The mongkut

laai yod or the multi-topped crown is worn by

Treesian, and Akat-talai, who has four faces and eight

arms. The mongkut laai naa or the multi-faced crown

is worn by Thotsakan and Sahasadecha, the white-

faced demon king of the city state Pangtan and the

highest ranked demon characters.

The krob na, which is also known as the unahit, is

the face frame worn by Kumphakan. The hua lone or

baldhead masks are worn by most of the hua ken

demon soldiers of the lowest ranks and by comedic

demon characters.

6.2.3 Classification by Colour

Although craftsmen make a whole host of Khon

masks and headdresses so as to differentiate the many

Ramakien characters, several groups of characters are

subsumed under categories of those who wear the

same headdress. For instance, the kranok emblem

crowns are worn by the demons Kuperun, Thoot,

Maiyararp and Waiyatarn, whereas the bamboo bract

crowns are worn by the demons Tosakirithorn,

Tosakiriwan, Parote, Ramasura and others.

Thus, in order to further individualise- and

thereby distinctly distinguish the characters from one

another-the crowns within each group, the craftsmen

use a vast array of different colours, choosing the

most suitable colour for each face. In the early phases

of mask making, only a few of the basic colours were

used, such as black, white, red, blue and yellow.

These colours are known as benjarong, which

literally translates from Thai Sanskrit as “five

colours”. Later, some of the craftsmen mixed the

colours to from other interesting shades. The

formulas for the mixtures were usually kept

confidential by the craftsmen. The following are

colours that have been painted on Khon masks.

• Red: Vermilion, red minium, rusty red,

crimson red, crimson, light vermilion,

brownish-red, maroon, bright vermilion,

pinkish or rose, crimson minium, new pot

colour, bright reddish orange, scarlet, pinkish.

• Yellow: yellow, gamboge tint, earth yellow,

light yellow, greyish yellow, light pearlish

yellow, pearlish yellow, moonlight or creamy

ivory colour.

• Blue: indigo blue, navy blue, ultramarine blue,

light indigo, bungor flower, bluish purple,

greyish blue, dark blue, navy blue.

• Purple: purple, faded lotus or pinkish purple,

dark purple, light purple.

• Green: green, dark green, sea green.

• Black: ink black, piebald, sable black.

• Grey: grey, piebald white, light to dark grey

cloud colour.

• Brown: dark sepia, piebald.

• White: The monkey masks are those worn by

Hanuman and Machanu.

Figure 3: Thai Khon mask

7 THE RELATIONSHIP

BETWEEN HIGH - END

FASHION DESIGN AND KHON

COSTUME

7.1 High-end Fashion Design

Behind a high-end series conference, how much skill

has been paid to complete a set of dresses. Only after

understanding the history and craftsmanship of high-

level, can you feel the essence of fashion.

High-end fashion design has always been seen as

a work of art. It inherits the history and essence of

human costume culture and is a valuable historical

and cultural heritage of mankind. However, due to its

exquisite craftsmanship, long production time and

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expensive fabrics and accessories, the people who

really own it are rare.

High-end fashion has always been the most

elegant symbol of the world,the perfect combination

of the best tradition and outstanding

technology,create works that bring beauty, elegance

and dreams to the highest peak.

Haute couture clothing always feels luxurious and

unique, not only in design concept, but also in its

craftsmanship and pure handcrafting. Each haute

couture garment is sewn by a senior worker using

traditional craftsmanship. Usually, a haute couture

dress is handcrafted for more than 100 hours, while

an embroidered evening dress is more than 1,000

hours.

Using sewing, embroidery and other

handicrafts,making three-dimensional fabrics,works

exceed beyond general standards. It is a vivid

manifestation of an eternal civilization.

7.2 Khon Costume and High-end

Fashion Design

Khon costume and high-end fahion design have many

similarities, such as the strict selection of fabrics, the

inheritance of traditional handicrafts, the fineness of

the production process, etc.

Through the understanding of the tradition Thai Khon

costume, extraction of related elements, use in

fashion design, Change the original single traditional

image , make him more fashionable, be known by

more people.

• Structure → Deconstruction → Restructure

• Conservative → Destroy the old and establish

the new → Innovate

• Art → Works → Commodity

Figure 4: Pattern design (owner draw & make)

8 CONCLUSIONS

Thai Khon, as the intangible cultural heritage of

Thailand, can be popularized in what way, and the

world can be known to the world. Using 5

Methodology: Analysis, Case study, Design

experiment, Survey-questionnaire, Trend analysis, by

Theoretical Research and Practice Research, The use

of the color, pattern, fabric, etc. of the costume in the

Thai Khon as the concept design element, applied to

high-end fashion design.

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121

Thai fashion designers and Chinese fashion

designers know very well about the country’s

traditional culture,So when they use traditional

elements to design, thinking is limited,I hope to make

the traditional elements more fashionable,At the same

time preserve the essence of traditional culture,Let

more young people understand and like traditional

culture. Using the new design model, inheriting and

innovating traditional culture， Protect and promote

intangible cultural heritage，let more people know

about Khon.r:

REFERENCES

Anuman Rajadhon.Phya.Essays on Thai Folklore.

Bangkok. The Social Science Association Press of

Thailand, 1968.

Baker, Christ and Pasuk Phongpaichit, A History of

Thailand. 2nd edition. Cambridge:Cambridge

University press, 2009.

Bowers, Faubion. The Dance in India. New York:

Columbia University press, 1953.

Idem. Theatre in the East. New York: Thomas Nelson and

Sons, 1956.

Bowie, Theodore. The Arts of Thailand. Bloomington,

Indiana University Press, 1960.

Idem. Khon Masks, Bangkok: Fine Arts Dept. 1962.

Idem. The Khon and Lakon. Bangkok: The Department of

Fine Arts, 1963.

Idem. The Custom and Rite of Paying Homage to

Teachers of Khon,Lakon and Piphat. Bangkok: Fine Arts

Dept, 1964.

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