This east-meets-west fashion story has taken spring 2012 to a very playful platform. And the fashion industry loves it. The globetrotting designer has always embraced multiculturalism in all his past collections and this one was no different for him.
Searing colours and noisy prints made up for the unconventional Thakoon hip-glamour. Shirtdresses with intricate embroidery, khakhi pants taped with golden trimmings and floor-length tiered skirts were worn with loose, paisley-printed tops. The subtle peplum at the bottom of each top made the silhouette seem more defined, but the fluid fabrics used characterised mobility. Turquoises, oranges, fuchsia, lavender with accents of cream and gold were splashed on the runway. The cowgirl was still alive, as seen with the animal-skin strappy shoes, but she was deeply immersed in her cultural transition.
Bollywood Western. Spurred on, little doubt, by the success of his Fall collection, which mixed Versailles rococo with Kenya’s Masai tribe, Thakoon Panichgul went multiculti again for Spring. This time around, it was an everyday bandanna that kicked things off. When he studied its pattern, the paisleys led him to India. The cross-cultural exchange produced a super-vibrant collection of searing turquoise, saffron, orange, and gold, in silhouettes that ranged from yoked Western shirts to a lamé salwar kameez embroidered at the neckline. The metallic trim on saris provided a recurring motif. Golden bands encircled the hem of a flippy mini, the legs of khakis and lightweight denim jeans, and intervals on a long trapeze dress. Topping everything off were updos powdered hot pink or aqua and two-tone cowboy hats. It was fearless—good on Panichgul for really going for it—but also camp.
Amid the kitsch, though, was the kind of thing this designer has always done very well—namely, the special little dress. A floral shirtdress with the shoulders scooped away captured the collection’s verve, while a chambray version with orange embroidery at the neckline was a shade or two more subtle. Panichgul’s experiments with full, floor-scraping skirts looked fresh in a season that’s been short on long. And the trench with storm flaps stitched in bullion had a collector’s appeal.
The western-inspired shoes created a perfect contrast with the gold tipped cowboy boots balancing the ethnic trapeze skirts. Shocking pinks and cobalt blues played the lead role as far as hair was concerned, but the tan cowboy hats balanced out the relentless cross-cultural parade.
For the entire Thakoon spring / summer 2012 collection, as seen at New York fashion week, click on the images below.
Wear Global 