Thakoon Catwalk Fashion Show New York FW2012

Romantic and very feminine, in an almost cliche way – that’s what Thakoons fall collection reflected. An undercurrent of sly irony and subversive sexuality coursed through the collection, winking at bad taste along the way. A camel coatdress that looked plain and proper from the front had an exciting  purple leopard-printed pony collar and a leather basket-weave panel in the back. Crinkled patent leather came in black and wild pink.  Chubby sweaters were laced with Mongolian fur. And for the girl who doesn’t wear her heart on her sleeve, there was chic understatement too, such as a black halter — completely backless — worn with matching trousers.

Thakoon Catwalk Fashion Show New York FW2011

When designer Thakoon Panichgul was doing research for his new  collection, he observed similarities between the costumes of Versailles and the clothes worn by the Masai.

Well, right. But somehow the designer managed to make a connection and it worked. The first look told it all:  a puff jacket with detachable panniers à la Marie Antoinette, but cut from a red and blue plaid ripped from a photo of African Masai-warriors. And Thakoon kept it going from beginning to end. Most of the patterns and prints, including arty batiks and stripes, were inspired by East Africa while the silhouettes mainly hinged on the courtly side — pouf peplums, ruffles and folds. It was ambitious. But the designer maintained control of this marriage of mixed motifs and the most striking thing was that despite the theme it looked so connected to the streets.

Fashion Focus: all about Thakoon

This week we chose designer Thakoon for our fashion focus. The reason for that? Up until now we didn’t know a lot about him, besides the fact that Anna Wintour said she loved his designs in The September Issue. But why did she like Thakoon so much? Why are his designs so special?

Name of the brand: Thakoon

Name(s ) of the designer(s): Thakoon Panichgul

About the designer(s):
Thakoon Panichgul was born in 1974 in Thailand, but now lives in America. He moved to the United States when he was 11 years old.

Start of the brand: 2004. Thakoon had been working as a fashion editor at Harper’s Bazar before.

First collection: a ten pieces collection in 2005

Thakoon is based in New York and sold in 34 countries

The Thakoon woman: has an inner sensuality. She is nonchalant and casual, but still very sensual.

Thakoon women: Rachel Bilson, Demi Moore, Michelle Obama and Sarah Jessica Parker. (Michelle Obama was recently seen in two different dresses from Thakoon’s spring/summer collection on 5 and 11 May 2010.)

The clothes are: easy and sophisticated. For Thakoon the most important thing is the clothes are wearable. Thakoon also has a thing for prints, he works together with different artists to create the most lovely prints. He likes to use colors in his collections too.

Type of clothes: mostly dresses made out of classic materials like lace and chiffon, but used in a modern way.

Signature: combining punk and chic

Collaborations: Thakoon for Nine West (accessories)(2006), Thakoon for Gap (2007), Thakoon for Hogan (2008), Thakoon for Target (2008). Thakoon even designed a few menswear cardigans for Aloha Rag (2010).

Quotes:

• ‘For me it’s about creating silhouettes that sort of have built-in gesture.’
• ‘I would love to dress Coco Chanel, she embodies al those things I love so much. She has a chicness and a rebelliousness around her.’
• ‘My clothes represent a combination of punk and refinement’

What to expect: Thakoon’s fan base will keep on augmenting and we’re sure there are some interesting collaborations ahead of us.

Above you can see several of Thakoon’s designs from four of his latest collections.

Thakoon Catwalk Show

Thakoon Panichgul wanted to mix punk with elegance as in tailored Mao-jackets, graffiti-prints, tartans and zipper-trimmings. But his soft floral coats and thirties style dresses were stronger and stood out from the rest. Power to elegance!