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Jim Thompson

The name Jim Thompson is synonymous with Thailand; its very mention today evokes images of rich silks in vibrant colours. Born James Harrison Wilson Thompson, ‘Jim’ was an American who fell in love with Thailand when he was posted to head the Office of Strategic Services (later the CIA) in Bangkok immediately after World War II. Although he quickly rose to become one of the country’s most celebrated foreigners, Thompson mysteriously disappeared when he failed to return from a walk in the Cameron Highlands of Malaysia on Easter Sunday of 1967.

Thompson was an architect by trade and even worked on the renovation of the Oriental Hotel on his release from the OSS in 1947, however it was the country’s ailing silk industry that captivated him most. At a time when competition from overseas textiles mills had all but forced the Thai cottage silk industry into extinction, Thompson began exploratory visits to the country’s impoverished northeast where the raw silk – a product of the mulberry tree – was produced. Excited by the raw shot silk texture and traditional designs of the locally-woven samples, Thompson was certain these products would have international appeal.

Returning to Bangkok, Thompson managed to encourage a community of weavers in the canal-side district of Ban Krua to produce some samples. Arriving in New York with his precious silks, Thompson managed to obtain a meeting with then Vogue editor Edna Woolman Chase. She described the fabric as a ‘magnificent new discovery’ and within weeks had the famed New York designer Valentina create a silk dress, which was then showcased in the pages of the famous magazine. Thai silk was officially in vogue.

After tireless more publicity campaigns, Thompson set up the Thai Silk Company in 1948. Business boomed. Vibrant colours were his trademark. As the original weavers prospered and grew wealthy, other Thai silk businesses emerged, which heralded the resurgence of this vital industry. By the time of Thompson’s disappearance there were more than 100 competing companies while today the industry employs more than 20,000 people. Jim Thompson silks became a world class designer brand.

Thompson is also known for his famous Thai house on the banks of the Khlong Sen Seb. Made up of six traditional Thai style teak houses (most of which date to the nineteenth century and came from Ayutthaya) cleverly crafted together, Thompson’s creation is filled with a repository of Oriental artefacts including one of the best collections of Thai paintings in the world. The Jim Thompson House, as it has become known, is now a fabulously stylish museum that showcases the life of this mysterious man. To experience a taste of Thompson’s life and to savour his influences and achievements, this is a Bangkok attraction you mustn’t miss.