Thai silk house Jim Thompson is evolving for a new generation – with Be Inthavong leading the way

Be Inthavong, the Lao-American designer and Fashion and Creative Design Director at Jim Thompson, is modernizing the 75-year-old Thai silk brand for a new generation. Raised in Texas after his family moved there when he was eight, Inthavong studied biology at Texas Christian University before moving to New York and discovering his passion for fashion.

After a trip back to Laos in 2003, he founded Be & D, a New York handbag label that later collaborated with Diane von Furstenberg. In 2009, Inthavong moved back to Laos to develop a unique technique of weaving leather into ribbons soft enough to pass through a silk loom, which he patented in 2010. This technique formed the basis of his own personal label, Be Inthavong, in 2019.

Inthavong's position as a Lao-American allows him to hold the East-West tension that the Jim Thompson brand embodies. Growing up understanding part of Thai culture but raised in America, he is foreign enough to the brand to see it clearly. As the brand's Fashion and Creative Design Director, Inthavong oversees the full fashion range of apparel, resort wear, and accessories, aiming to keep the brand feeling fresh and modern.

Jim Thompson, the founder of the brand, also arrived from elsewhere – he was an American who fell in love with Thai silk and built a company around it before disappearing in the Malaysian jungle in 1967. Inthavong's role spans the brand's various product lines, working on refining the collection, introducing new pieces, and guiding the brand toward a lifestyle brand – the first from Asia.

Looking ahead, Inthavong envisions growth in new markets, reaching a younger customer base, and expanding the brand's reach.