THAKOON AUTUMN/WINTER 2015-16 READY-TO-WEAR NEW YORK
In these early days of the Fall season, many designers are still thinking along the 1970s lines that were so prevalent for Spring. Even New York’s biggest boosters would have to admit that its runways sometimes have a tendency to look a lot like Paris and Milan’s did six months ago. So it was satisfying to see that Thakoon Panichgul had set about the task of proposing a new proportion. The lean, mid-calf dresses with wispy hems he layered over fine-gauge knits sprung from a nostalgia on Panichgul’s part for the early 1990s, he said. The collection’s rich prints and textures, including one especially luminous tapestry velvet, took their cues from 19th-century dandies: Backstage, Panichgul mentioned Oscar Wilde and his alter ego Dorian Gray.
Swirled together, those starting points produced bohemian vibes, but ones that felt unencumbered by overly familiar retro associations. On the contrary, a red mock turtleneck with lace insets below the shoulders and the black V-neck tank dress slipped over it looked light and effortless. Panichgul adapted the same generally narrow silhouette for evening. A long-sleeve plunge-front dress dripping in shining sequins was one of the collection’s standouts.
Panichgul’s distinctive cotton shirting—with cutouts at the seams or extra-long tails for twisting into a knot—provided a sturdy, serious counterpoint to the floaty dresses. Ombré or color-blocked wool coats and vests added texture and warmth, as did the shearling sashes he continued from Pre-Fall. But a little more attention to outerwear wouldn’t have gone amiss. That fact was rammed home when the wind coming off the Hudson River on this particularly bitter day almost knocked you over leaving the West 37th Street venue.