YOU want a high-end shopping in Bangkok? I’ll point you to the right direction and better brace yourself for a card-swiping extravaganza.
If you talk Hermes, Givenchy, Chanel, Gucci or Prada then this ultra-luxury mall speaks your language.
It won’t get lost in translation when you utter Tom Ford, Martin Margiela, Christian Louboutin, Isabel Marant or BCBG Maxazria, labels that debuted in Bangkok at this shopping arena.
Or perhaps a word or two in the Vivienne Westwood, Paul Smith, and Michael Kors tongue?
High fashion is Central Embassy’s native tongue, but it can engage you in high-street style discourse of Lacoste and Zara as well.
Let’s just say your conversations with this “chic personality” will always be interesting.
Hysterical now?
But before you take out that plastic fantastic, direct your attention to the building’s architecture. You have to understand the relationship of its form to its function. Believe me, you’ll love your shopping experience more.
The address was once the British Embassy. An embassy of luxury took over, where no appointments are needed and no invitations for high tea are required. You can come and leave—in style, as you please.
The mall’s architecture exudes that Guggenheim Bilbao vibe with its fluid lines and glimmering finish—titanium sheets on the museum, aluminum shingles on the mall.
Inspired by the enameled tile details of the Thai temples, the multitude of shingles used on the exterior emits a rainbow of colors that caught its reflection. The metal cladding moves up to the tower, which houses a six-star hotel. From afar, the building is like Bangkok’s beacon of luxury.
You’ll meet “Freddie Horse” by the entrance (have a selfie with the mount, he’s famous). Freddie was molded into reality from the artistic mind of the famous Colombian sculptor Fernando Botero. In the art circle where it belongs it’s monumental not because it weighs two tons and took four years to finish, but because there’s only two of its kind created by the artist.
Quite the fitting icon for the mall, which was launched in the Year of the Horse in 2014, as Central Embassy wanted to embody the equine characteristics of strength, prosperity and companionship.
And your reliable shopping companion? The plastic. Time to take it out for a swiping good time.
Step inside this embassy.
I’m pretty sure you’ll freeze on your tracks, gasp and be amazed by the mall’s interior makeup.
Central Embassy is like a space-age movie set in the minimalist look.
It’s large and airy with wide concourses in all eight levels reachable by crisscrossing escalators. There is never that sense of “too crowded” and everything is washed in white, which allows the boutiques to stand out.
Perhaps that’s where you’ll be directing your vision if you’re in the mall now— with your hands clenching the plastic (or is yours in metal?).
Loosen that grasp, dear, make your way to each of the mall’s impressive selection of high-end designer stores and high-street labels (there are several floors dedicated for that) and swipe away!
Tired? Hungry?
Luxury malls have fine-dining restaurants no less. That’s where you can take a break before continuing on to your shopping spree.
Oh, Central Embassy is far from snooty. If there are the affordable fashion labels, it houses the affordable and famous restaurant chains, too. And I have just a dining tip for the food lovers. But that’s for the next story.
Until then, relax and watch a movie—for 1,500 baht. Yep, it’s that much to catch a film lounging on huge sofas, a butler service and a gold encrusted movie-stub.
How to get there: Central Embassy Bangkok can be directly accessed from either Ploenchit or ChidLom BTS Skytrain stations.
Email me at jinggoysalvador@yahoo.com. For more lifestyle & travel stories, visit jeepneyjinggoy.com & ofapplesandlemons.com