BANGKOK – Thailand is celebrating its largest silk fashion event with nearly 70 participating designers from around the world.

The ninth “Celebration of Silk: Thai Silk Road to the World 2019” takes place over six days at high-end Bangkok shopping mall Central World.

More than 3,000 meters of hand-woven Thai silk from the SUPPORT Foundation, established by Queen Sirikit – the queen mother, was distributed to the designers to make garments for the event.

On Tuesday, Chilean designer Sebastian Del Real Ossa showcased his collection inspired by “gold.”

“I believe that the gold in Eastern and Western culture has been related to light and the divine, and in that sense, it seems to me that it belongs to a universal iconographic language that unites us in spite of distances,” the Chilean designer told EFE.

The runway shows are some of the highlights of the festival, in which top fashion designers from 43 countries are presenting their Thai silk collections five times during the week.

The event also includes exhibitions, a new student design competition and a gala night, to honor the projects of Queen Sirikit, and to showcase contemporary and traditional Thai silk costumes through cross-cultural exchanges.

“This year is the first time we get to see the beautiful cross-cultural promotion between Thailand and the cultures of the Gulf states through Thai silk, fashion and design,” Edward Kiti, project director of the event, said in a statement.

The celebration will conclude on Saturday, Nov. 23, with the Grand Fashion Extravaganza Show gala night, which 70 embassies will attend at the Royal Thai Navy Convention Hall.