The fame of Pee Mak Phra Khanong is being felt well beyond the film’s record-breaking revenues. Most recently, the ghost story remake has come to dominate the world of men’s fashion.
The film’s male lead, Pee Mak, portrayed by heartthrob Mario Maurer, has convinced fashion-conscious men across Bangkok to shave the sides and back of their heads in order to imitate the look he sports in the film. This year, undercuts happen to be a pet obsession of the high fashion world as well. As a result, Thai men could not feel more encouraged to adopt this attention-grabbing do.
The top of the hair, which is left long, enables individuals to cultivate unique takes on the style. They can slick it back, comb it to the side, comb it down as bangs or turn it into quirky spikes or curly quiffs.
Famous fans of Pee Mak undercuts include GTH star Pachara Chirathivat, Channel 3 actor Phasut Banyaem and Bangkok Glass soccer player Teeratep Winothai.
Pee Mak’s haircut was actually quite common for both Thai men and women in the early Rattanakosin era. The original Thai-style haircut, called “Mahad Thai,” was designed to help men move comfortably during wartime. Women adopted the haircut in order to disguise themselves as men while traveling. During this period, people used coconut oil mixed with balm to arrange their hair. Mahad Thai was later abolished, during the reigns of Kings Rama V and VI, in favor of a longer, western-style coiffeur.
Now that the once-outdated Mahad Thai has been revived, it offers a great excuse for you to dabble in the heights of Thai and western fashion at the same time. So, if you are hitting a salon but cannot think of a decent crop, tell hairdressers that you want to go Pee Mak-style.
