Thakoon Panichgul | |
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Thakoon Panichgul (/təˈkuːnpəˈnɪtʃɡəl/;[1]Thai:ฐากูร พานิชกุล, born 1973) is aThai-Americanfashion designer.
Thakoon Panichgul was born inChiang Rai.[2] orNakhon Phanom province inThailand.[3]
He moved to the United States with his family when he was 11 years old and grew up inBellevue, Nebraska.[4] Panichgul attendedBellevue West High School, where he was aDECA member, attending the international DECA conference in 1993 inOrlando, Florida.[citation needed]
After graduating fromBoston University in 1997 with a business degree, he moved toNew York City in order to work in the fashion industry.[5]
After starting a career as a fashion writer, Panichgul developed an interest in designing, and eventually pursued formal studies atParsons School of Design from 2001 to 2003.[5]
In 2000, Panichgul started his fashion career in writing atHarper's Bazaar working as an associate features editor.[6][7][5]
Kathryn Murdoch co-founded the Thakoon brand of clothing and accessories with Thakoon in 2004, and remained a partner[8][9][10] until its sale in 2015.[11]
In September 2004, Panichgul produced his firstready-to-wear collection and became recognized by fashion press, editors and stylists, as well as celebrities likeRachel Bilson,Demi Moore,Michelle Obama, andSarah Jessica Parker. In 2007 he produced a fashion line forThe Gap after being singled out byAnna Wintour ofVogue Magazine, as chronicled in the 2009 Americandocumentary film,The September Issue.[12][5]
In 2015,Vivian Chou's company Bright Fame Fashion acquired a controlling interest in Thakoon Corp. for an undisclosed sum;[13] Murdoch sold her share of the business.[10]
In 2009, Panichgul launched Thakoon Addition as a capsule component to his runway collection.[14] Addition subsequently had stand-alone presentations atNew York Fashion Week.[15] Through a license with Six London, the brand added shoes to the assortment by 2013.[14]
In 2008, Diego Della Valle signed Panichgul up to create a clothing brand forHogan.[16][17] In 2009, he ended his two-year contract as the brand's creative director.[18]
Panchigul produced a well-received limited-edition clothing line atTarget in early 2009. In 2012, he made a limited-edition series of lacquers forNARS Cosmetics based on the brights from his spring runway.[19]
In September 2019, after a two-year hiatus away from the industry in which he changed his approach and realized that "it's not about fads and trends anymore",[20] Panichgul launched adirect-to-consumer line on THAKOON.com.[21] His new start-up site aimed to create comfortable clothing from a luxury designer perspective.[22] Panichgul was also the force behind the creative platform HommeGirls: a magazine and retail site that celebrated menswear andtomboy style and culture among women.[23] It was launched viaInstagram in March 2019 with images of menswear-inspired fashion.[24]
From 2009 and As of 2021[update], Panichgul has been the creative director of jewelry company Tasaki.[25][18]
Panichgul was a runner-up for the Vogue/CFDA Fashion Fund in 2006, and nominated by theCouncil of Fashion Designers of America in 2007 for the Swarovski Award for emerging women's wear designer of the year.[16][5]
His clothing has been worn by U.S. first ladyMichelle Obama, who wore a floral dress by Panichgul on the evening her husband,Barack Obama, accepted his party's nomination for president at the2008 Democratic National Convention.[26]
Panichgul and creative director Russell Spina have been in a relationship since the early 2000s. As of 2020[update] the couple lives inManhattan'sTribeca neighborhood.[27]
She continues to be an active investor in efficient and sustainable fashion and has been a partner at Thakoon LLC since 2004.
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