Seated atop a cherry, Thai actress Thanaerng Kanyawee Songmuang gives us a look at her life and how she defines taste in GRAZIA Malaysia’s September 2024 “Taste” issue.

In the beginning, there is nothing. Inherently, this is how all of life begins. Then, as it is repeated time and time again in books, in movies, in music, and in sermons, God said, “Let there be light”. It is from this that the consciousness is born. The senses are brought to life. 

The eyes, in the beginning, are closed, so instead, we feel first. Smelling and tasting come after. The infant learns of their surroundings for the first time—using all the senses but sight. Then, when the cries have been let out, tears streaming down the sides of the infant’s cheeks, sight becomes the primary—seeing is believing. Poet Edna St. Vincent Millay once penned down these words: “Childhood is not from birth to a certain age. The child is grown, and puts away childish things. Childhood is the kingdom where nobody dies”. But growing up comes with its own set of changes. The child decides early on what is appropriate and what isn’t. Broccoli is disgusting, long beans are okay. 

Football is crass, swimming works best. Fashion is fun, sciences [while interesting] is best reserved for people far more into that. The Eagles and Grey’s Anatomy are for the oldies. Instead, young adult fiction like Twilight, music from Taylor Swift, and watching hours and hours of Gossip Girl or Pretty Little Liars are the better-suited choices. The tween years are especially a fun one—experimental, gauche, and very character-driven. The idea of taste and the understanding of it is still somewhat subliminal. Being young allows you room for experimentation and even greater legroom for mistakes to be made. So, as you come into yourself, and blow out another set of candles on a birthday cake that you wish was different than the one you got, you burrow into yourself. The light of an LCD panel gleams in the dark, illuminating your face as you scroll and scroll till your fingers hurt. The smartphone is the tool—a litany of things and people lie right beyond your grasp. In the dark, you yearn. When daylight breaks and you are at school, you tell your friends of your newfound interests. You think to yourself, “Standing out and being different is how you build that identity”. 

In between classes and during recess, you ask them, “Have you seen the latest Chanel runway collection? Karl turned the Palais de Tokyo into a space station this time!”. Your friends are interested but unenthused. You continue on anyway. There’s something so magical about bags, shoes, and garments that tell so much in minor subtleties that you begin to dive deep into the trenches of fashion. Because, if there’s anything the TV shows and movies that you’ve watched have told you, it’s that there is value in worshipping the finer things in life. But the debate begins—is the worship there to have you stand out from the crowd, to be better than the next person? Are you, instead, into it because you’ve become a mindless consumer of things and are taking things as they are being fed to you? Or maybe, your particular interest in tasteful things comes from a place of true understanding of art, of the craft, and of personal refinement. You sit and wonder, and in doing so, you grow up. 

You pass the painful teenage years, swim by the treacherous waters of your early twenties, and make your way to where you are now. Much older, maybe not so much the wiser. But your palate has changed drastically. You sit in a restaurant, and without hesitation, you order something you think you might like—something that’s interesting, maybe even something different. You walk past a store and you think, “Those pants are beautiful”, sighing as you try them on later in the changing room. You know what you like now. Your phone dings—a friend has sent you a link to an article highlighting the collaboration between Sacai’s Chitose Abe and Cartier and you breathe out in definite glee. The jewellery brand first came to your consciousness when you were fifteen years old, watching Kylie Jenner flaunt her stack of Love Bracelets on her Instagram page. Then, as if God had intended it to be, you came across a YouTuber who collects Cartier pieces alongside his ever-amassing Birkin and Kelly collection. You let go of your need to get a Love Bracelet. This time around, you wish for a Santos with an emerald green dial. You dream. 

As you come into your twenties and come into yourself, you can now discern what works for you and what doesn’t. Taste, as everyone keeps affirming, is subjective. You eventually learn to follow your instincts and let what you like, lead the way. When asked to define her taste and how she picks her upcoming projects; actress, model, singer, and influencer Kanyawee Songmuang—or as she is more frequently known, Thanaerng—explains, “I don’t really have a certain decision-making process for the things I like. To the things I find tasteful. I decide things on what excites me at the moment. I follow my instincts.”

At twenty-eight years old, Thanaerng has tapped into a variety of creative endeavours while remaining an enigma. Not much is known about her personal life and not much can be found online. The topic of Taste permeates the discussion at hand. How does someone with 4.7 million followers on Instagram define her tastes? When the project slid into my periphery, I began to unpack the general idea behind the concept of Taste. Things are not as they used to be. 

I no longer yearned for the pretty and shiny things. They were placed firmly in the back seat. Instead, craftsmanship, worth, meaning, and intent became the defining parameters for taste and how I defined it. What I ate, what I drank, what I bought, how I looked, how I smelled—I wondered if Thanaerng navigated this similarly. Answering from Bangkok via e-mail, the actress, who has been “quite busy these days”, is reverting her focus to two important matters—her health and those closest to her. Next to exercising and making time for her loved ones, the Bottega Veneta ambassador has been frantically trying to fit as much as she can into her already busy schedule. She shares, “If it’s not busy—and it can get really busy—I’m doing nothing. I end up sleeping day and night like a cat”. The Thai actress, then explains a little about her stage name, citing it to also be part of her name: “My grandparents gave me my name. Thanaerng is also my real name”. 

First starring in the Thai TV show, Hormones, a breakout role for the actress, Thanaerng has since come a long way. When you’ve achieved a level of fame and stature similar to Thanaerng’s, scripts and acting opportunities come your way naturally. This would leave the regular Joe overwhelmed by the slurry of choices. But she is nothing of that sort. I wondered if the actress had a set of directors, producers, and screenwriters she liked to work with. “I don’t,” she answered. Instead, her keenness was towards working with friends instead. “I began acting with a number of people who started out the same time I did. They’re now grown into their careers—some of them in acting, some of them directing, others producing and a few making music. I would rather take on projects with them!” 

Being driven and independent was something the actress learned early on. In an interview from a while ago, she explained that her mother was the one who urged her into acting. I probed her on that. She explains, “It’s a thing in my family that if you want something, you have to work for it. At the time, I wanted a new phone. We were walking around the mall and they were having an open casting. That’s when my mother suggested I audition for it. In return, she would get me the phone I wanted. It didn’t matter if I landed the gig or not, she just wanted me to try it out. To see if I liked it. I landed it and funnily, it was for Hormones.” 

On trying out modelling and singing, Thanaerng attempted it after having her manager convince her to do so. “I love to go to the karaoke. My manager, knowing this, decided to get me to sing. I still get a bit anxious when I have to perform live.” The Thai actress’ tastes in music and food are vast. For food, in particular, she admits that while she cooks, she doesn’t necessarily find it to be edible by most. 

The pictures from the shoot finally made their way to me. Adorned in Cartier’s and Bottega’s best, Thanaerng looked absolutely ravishing as she sat atop a cherry. I am reminded of Cecile Believe’s Plucking a Cherry From The Void. I think of biting into a cherry and having it bleed its red juice on my face, dripping down the side of my chin. I think of Thanaerng’s growth into her fullest form, exploring it all while remaining refined and fastidious. “Surround yourself with good people. Eat well, sleep plenty. Focus on what matters to you. Time is the most precious resource of all.” Her advice rings resoundingly. Maybe that’s what taste is all about, after all. 

Credits

Photography: Chee Wei
Creative Direction & Styling: Ian Loh
Hair: Panithan Summa
Makeup: Yothin Chuaysri 
Producer: Ratchada Tubtimphet
Set Design: Yukon Boonprasart YUKON BOONPRASART
Photography Assistants: Manit Jumpa, Thanakorn Kantaponthanat
Styling Assistant: Sarah Chong