Platinum Fashion Mall

Platinum Fashion Mall stands on Phetchaburi Road in the Pratunam area of Bangkok, next to Pantip Plaza and opposite the Pratunam Market. CentralWorld and the Ratchaprasong shopping district are a short walk to the south.

The mall was built as a centre for fashion wholesale and retail, with a condominium tower above the shopping floors. A second building, Platinum 2, opened next door in 2011, linked to the original block, and the complex is now one of the largest clothing malls in the city.

Inside are thousands of small stalls arranged in numbered zones and rows. The floors carry names taken from famous shopping streets around the world, such as Ginza, Soho, Oxford and Camden. Most stalls sell women's and men's clothing, shoes, bags, jewellery and accessories, much of it designed and produced in Thailand. Many shops give lower prices when buying three or more pieces, and traders from across Asia come to buy in bulk.

A food centre on an upper floor serves inexpensive Thai dishes. Information counters stand at the entrances, and ATMs are spread through the building.

The mall opens in the morning, with some days opening earlier for wholesale buyers, and closes in the evening. Arriving early on a weekday is the easiest way to avoid crowds.

The building cost about five billion baht to develop. It has six storeys of retail with an 11-storey condominium tower above, and Platinum 2, on the plot next door, was completed in March 2011. The shopping floors run from the basement upward as Ginza, Soho, Oxford, Nathan, Camden and Orchard, with the Food Center at the top, and the stalls are split into three zones with every row clearly numbered, which makes it easier to find a shop again later.

Opening times are early by Bangkok standards. The mall is listed as opening at 9 am on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays, and at 8 am on Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays, the busy wholesale days, and closing at 8 pm; check the times posted at the entrance before planning around them. Mobile top-up machines and ATMs are spread across the floors.

The 14-storey Pratunam Complex mall stands opposite, and CentralWorld is close by.