The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) has appointed Her Royal Highness Princess Sirivannavari Nariratana Rajakanya WIPO Ambassador for Fashion and Design, recognizing Her Royal Highness’s outstanding contributions to creativity, innovation, and the strategic use of intellectual property (IP).

Her Royal Highness visited the WIPO headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, on 28 May 2026, when WIPO Director General Daren Tang presented a formal address to honor the Princess. During this ceremony, the WIPO Director General formally conferred upon Her Royal Highness the title of WIPO Ambassador for Fashion and Design, making the Princess the first person in the world to hold this historic position.

In the ceremony, the WIPO Director General noted that Her Royal Highness had gained 541 IP assets during her long fashion career and that the Princess holds registered trademarks in 34 countries for her range of branded jewelry, leather goods, and home décor. Her Royal Highness’s iconic creative identities, including the Peacock motif and the “SR” monogram, combine cultural expression with commercial strength and show how strategic IP use can help drive enterprise growth.

Her Royal Highness has shown “a consistent, deliberate practice of using intellectual property as a foundation for building a lasting creative enterprise. Yet Her Royal Highness's work extends well beyond her personal portfolio. Across Thailand, the Princess has worked directly with artisans and craftspeople, helping communities take their traditional heritage and develop it into products that compete in contemporary markets. Her Royal Highness’s experience in bringing together heritage, design, and intellectual property is a model that others should emulate,” said Director General Tang.

The Director General further added: “That is precisely the purpose of this Ambassadorship, which we hope will allow Her Royal Highness to extend her work beyond Thailand – supporting communities in other countries to find new potential in their own creative traditions, through designs, branding, and the strategic use of intellectual property.”

Mr. Tang thanked the Kingdom of Thailand for hosting an exhibition at WIPO that highlights Her Royal Highness’s distinctive IP holdings, including examples of products from her fashion lines, as well as traditional methods of creation used by Thai artisans. 

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Commerce of the Kingdom of Thailand Suphajee Suthumpun said, “By graciously bestowing original fabric patterns upon local weavers and artisans throughout the Kingdom, Her Royal Highness has sustainably generated livelihoods for more than 800,000 families across all 77 provinces across the country, creating economic value exceeding 200 billion baht, or more than 5.3 billion euros. These royal endeavors demonstrate to creators and designers around the world that intellectual property, when rooted in cultural heritage, can generate enduring social and economic value for generations to come.” 

The appointment reflects a longstanding engagement of the Thai Royal Family with intellectual property, according to WIPO. In 2009, His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej The Great (Rama IX), became the first recipient of the WIPO Global Leader Award, in recognition of his contributions as an inventor and his commitment to innovation. Her Royal Highness received the WIPO Award for Creative Excellence in August 2025.