About Chenaski

Chenaski was founded at the end of 1998 out of the love for travelling, the interest in exotic markets and countries and the passion for fashion.

Already before that I brought beautiful things back from my travels and sold them from time to time. In 1997 – 1998 I was travelling through Southeast Asia and India, had bought myself a vintage dragon shirt at the Chatuchak market in Bangkok and for months everybody asked me about that shirt ( ...funny coindidence, on an earlier trip to Thailand I got a very similar dragon shirt painted at a hand fan factory…..) .

So at the end of that trip I set out in Bangkok to find someone, who could produce this shirt for me. After about 6 weeks I found Chawapat’s shop at the Chatuchak. He had a quite similar model on offer, we reworked it together and since than we work together.

The first production was that dragon shirt in 4 different color combinations. I founded Chenaski and within a few weeks ( January 1999 ) I sold the shirts to boutiques in the Ruhr area, the Rhineland and the neighbouring Netherlands. A short while later I returned to Bangkok. This time with my own designs in my luggage.

Those first prints were inspired by the tattoo, hot-rod and ethno scene. The classic flame shirt was created in that period as well. Probably my best known creation so far…..

At the end of 2001 I added ruffle shirts to the collection and that 70‘s vintage style matched my personal taste 100%. So in the years that followed I took printed 70s shirts, flares, singlets, roll-neck jumpers, mini skirts, dresses and on and on…...into the collection and that is how it has all gone until today.

Chawapat was starting out in 1998 too , having lost almost everything in what was called the Tiger states crisis. When we met he had just founded his small business and through our work together it grew into a lovely family firm with a team of 6 – 10 people.

Also hugely important for Chenaski’s development and its style is Markus Oellers aka MoeGrafix. Right from the start he has designed a large part of the prints and designs as our graphic artist.