WITH the benefit of a centralised location like Lincoln Center, designers who show off-site are looking to cultivate a unique visual ambiance. Designer Thakoon Panichgul also enlisted the nose to help conjure a sense of place with a distinctively alluring aroma filling the grand ballroom of The Plaza hotel, where he presented his spring collection. While no one could quite put their finger on the fragrance's composition, it was a fun conversation starter.
After last season's magnificent show, which used vibrant blue and red Masai prints in quilted and moulded outerwear, many people wondered if he could keep up the winning streak. Spoiler alert: he did. In a season where designers are trying to embrace and assimilate maximalism into their brand's DNA, Thakoon certainly found an aggressively confident, albeit strikingly unusual, visual approach. Look one was a glossy sky blue blazer, nipped at the waist and with orange lace shoulder embellishment with a matching skirt and cowboy hat. By embracing the unexpected and bizarre, Panichgul presented a playfully opulent collection, which housed many ideas.
The designer intuited a sense of the Japanese avant-garde, most notably Rei Kawakubo, in the cotton candy-coloured hair and circus theatrics. There were psychedelic bandana prints, Rococo brocades, jocular ornamentation, and interspersed technical fabrics on coats, skirts, dresses and jackets. Even the closing safari jacket was decorated with metallic embroidery. Sari-like throws were shown with the two-toned Stetsons serving as a witty duel of east versus west. Panichgul incorporated many of the now familiar trends, but did so in a way that was daring and exciting, even if it may make for a challenging commercial endeavour. Sometimes, being sensitive to one's vision should outweigh enterprise. And who knows, it may cut through the static on a busy sales floor and ultimately pay off.
SEE THE THAKOON SHOW ARCHIVE