The Thakoon formula calls for a little bit of town and a little bit of country. Distant country. Thakoon Panichgul has been pulling from far-flung traditions for several seasons, and combining ethnic garb with street-ready sportif elements to great, if occasionally unlikely, effect. For Fall, his rococo Masai warriors made for a case study in head-scratching hybridization that worked. He followed it up here with a collection that pulled from gypsy clothing and folk costume without losing his urban (and urbane) sense of chic. "I didn't want to do a literal gypsy," he said of his inspirations today. "I wanted to do something that was a bit sportier, a bit more New York."
The folk motifs came courtesy of embroidery on bib-front little cotton dresses and flared kick skirts. A berry red print on a summery white jumpsuit and matching blazer echoed embroidery, too. Piecework dresses in mixed cottons were feather-light, using mixed fabrics and blocks of rich colors like lemon to smartly emphasize the curves of the torso.
Panichgul also played with roses, a signature motif for him ever since his heralded collaboration with Laurie Simmons back in Spring '09. That flower in particular can be an overwrought little metaphor, but Thakoon sapped the saccharine by rendering his in graphic black and white. He sprayed them in print over trim pants and tunic tops, and embroidered them crawling up day dresses.
