Thakoon Panichgul
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Thakoon Panichgul (; , born 1973) is a Thai-
American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...
fashion designer Fashion design is the Art (skill), art of applied arts, applying design, aesthetics, clothing construction, and natural beauty to clothing and its Fashion accessory, accessories. It is influenced by diverse cultures and different trends and has va ...
.


Early life and education

Thakoon Panichgul was born in
Chiang Rai Chiang Rai (, ; , ) is the northernmost major city in Thailand, with a population of about 200,000 people. It is located in Mueang Chiang Rai District, Chiang Rai Province. Chiang Rai was established as a capital city in the reign of King Ma ...
. or
Nakhon Phanom Nakhon Phanom (, ; , ) is a town (''thesaban mueang'') in northeastern Thailand, capital of Nakhon Phanom Province. The town covers ''tambons'' Nai Mueang and Nong Saeng and parts of ''tambons'' At Samat and Nong Yat, all in Mueang Nakhon Phano ...
province in
Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...
. He moved to the United States with his family when he was 11 years old and grew up in
Bellevue, Nebraska Bellevue ( French for "beautiful view"; previously named Belleview) is a suburban city in Sarpy County, Nebraska, United States. It is part of the Omaha–Council Bluffs metropolitan area, and had a population of 64,176 as of the 2020 census, ...
. Panichgul attended
Bellevue West High School Bellevue West High School is a public secondary school located in Bellevue, Nebraska, United States. It had a 2013 enrollment of 1,584 students. The principal is Kevin Rohlfs. The school's athletic teams are the Thunderbirds, and their school ...
, where he was a DECA member, attending the international DECA conference in 1993 in
Orlando, Florida Orlando ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Orange County, Florida, United States. The city proper had a population of 307,573 at the 2020 census, making it the fourth-most populous city in Florida behind Jacksonville, Florida, Jacksonville ...
. After graduating from
Boston University Boston University (BU) is a Private university, private research university in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. BU was founded in 1839 by a group of Boston Methodism, Methodists with its original campus in Newbury (town), Vermont, Newbur ...
in 1997 with a business degree, he moved to
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
in order to work in the fashion industry. After starting a career as a fashion writer, Panichgul developed an interest in designing, and eventually pursued formal studies at
Parsons School of Design The Parsons School of Design is a private art and design college under The New School located in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of New York City. Founded in 1896 after a group of progressive artists broke away from established Manhattan art ...
from 2001 to 2003.


Career

In 2000, Panichgul started his fashion career in writing at ''
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'' working as an associate features editor. Kathryn Murdoch co-founded the Thakoon brand of clothing and accessories with Thakoon in 2004, and remained a partner until its sale in 2015. In September 2004, Panichgul produced his first
ready-to-wear Ready-to-wear (RTW)also called ''prêt-à-porter'', or off-the-rack or off-the-peg in casual useis the term for garments sold in finished condition in standardized sizes, as distinct from made-to-measure or bespoke clothing tailored to a partic ...
collection and became recognized by fashion press, editors and stylists, as well as celebrities like
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,
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,
Michelle Obama Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama ( Robinson; born January 17, 1964) is an American attorney and author who served as the first lady of the United States from 2009 to 2017, being married to Barack Obama, the 44th president of the United Stat ...
, and
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. In 2007 he produced a fashion line for The Gap after being singled out by
Anna Wintour Dame Anna Wintour ( ; born 3 November 1949) is a British-American media executive, who has been serving as editor-in-chief of '' Vogue'' since 1988. Wintour has also served as global chief content officer of Condé Nast since 2020, where she o ...
of ''
Vogue Magazine ''Vogue'' (stylized in all caps), also known as American ''Vogue'', is a monthly fashion and lifestyle magazine that covers style news, including haute couture fashion, beauty, culture, living, and runway. It is part of the global collectio ...
'', as chronicled in the 2009 American
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, ''
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''. In 2015, Vivian Chou's company Bright Fame Fashion acquired a controlling interest in Thakoon Corp. for an undisclosed sum; Murdoch sold her share of the business. In 2009, Panichgul launched Thakoon Addition as a capsule component to his runway collection.Jessica Iredale (16 October 2013)
Thakoon Addition Expanding Into Footwear
''
Women's Wear Daily ''Women's Wear Daily'' (also known as ''WWD'') is a fashion-industry trade journal often referred to as the "Bible of fashion". Horyn, Cathy"Breaking Fashion News With a Provocative Edge" ''The New York Times''. (August 20, 1999). It provides i ...
''.
Addition subsequently had stand-alone presentations at
New York Fashion Week New York Fashion Week (NYFW), held in February and September of each year, is a semi-annual series of events in Manhattan typically spanning seven to nine days when international Fashion design, fashion collections are shown to buyers, the pres ...
. Through a license with Six London, the brand added shoes to the assortment by 2013. In 2008, 
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signed Panichgul up to create a clothing brand for
Hogan A hogan ( or ; from Navajo ' ) is the primary, traditional dwelling of the Navajo people. Other traditional structures include the summer shelter, the underground home, and the sweat house. A hogan can be round, cone-shaped, multi-sided, or squ ...
. In 2009, he ended his two-year contract as the brand's creative director.Sophia Chabbott (9 November 2009)
Thakoon Panichgul Takes Creative Post at Tasaki
''
Women's Wear Daily ''Women's Wear Daily'' (also known as ''WWD'') is a fashion-industry trade journal often referred to as the "Bible of fashion". Horyn, Cathy"Breaking Fashion News With a Provocative Edge" ''The New York Times''. (August 20, 1999). It provides i ...
''.
Panchigul produced a well-received limited-edition clothing line at
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in early 2009. In 2012, he made a limited-edition series of lacquers for
NARS Cosmetics NARS Cosmetics is a French cosmetics and skin care company founded by make-up artist and photographer François Nars in 1994. The cosmetics line began with twelve lipsticks sold at Barneys New York. Since then, NARS has created various multi-use ...
based on the brights from his spring runway. 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", Panichgul launched a
direct-to-consumer Direct-to-consumer (DTC or D2C) or business-to-consumer (B2C) is the business model of selling products directly to customers and thereby bypassing any third-party retailers, wholesalers, or middlemen. Direct-to-consumer sales are usually transa ...
line on THAKOON.com. His new start-up site aimed to create comfortable clothing from a luxury designer perspective. Panichgul was also the force behind the creative platform HommeGirls: a magazine and retail site that celebrated menswear and
tomboy A tomboy is a girl or young woman who generally expresses masculine traits. Such traits may include wearing androgynous or unfeminine clothing and engaging in activities and behaviors traditionally associated with boys or men. Origins The w ...
style and culture among women. It was launched via
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in March 2019 with images of menswear-inspired fashion.


Other activities

From 2009 and , Panichgul has been the creative director of jewelry company Tasaki.


Recognition

Panichgul was a runner-up for the Vogue/CFDA Fashion Fund in 2006, and nominated by the
Council of Fashion Designers of America The Council of Fashion Designers of America, Inc. (CFDA), founded in 1962 by publicist Eleanor Lambert, and headquartered in Manhattan, is a not-for-profit trade association comprising a membership of over 450 American fashion and accessor ...
in 2007 for the Swarovski Award for emerging women's wear designer of the year.Luisa Zargani (16 October 2007)
Hogan Taps Thakoon Panichgul
''
Women's Wear Daily ''Women's Wear Daily'' (also known as ''WWD'') is a fashion-industry trade journal often referred to as the "Bible of fashion". Horyn, Cathy"Breaking Fashion News With a Provocative Edge" ''The New York Times''. (August 20, 1999). It provides i ...
''.
His clothing has been worn by U.S. first lady
Michelle Obama Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama ( Robinson; born January 17, 1964) is an American attorney and author who served as the first lady of the United States from 2009 to 2017, being married to Barack Obama, the 44th president of the United Stat ...
, who wore a floral dress by Panichgul on the evening her husband,
Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...
, accepted his party's nomination for president at the
2008 Democratic National Convention The 2008 Democratic National Convention was a quadrennial United States presidential nominating convention, presidential nominating convention of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party where it adopted its national platform an ...
.


Personal life

Panichgul and creative director Russell Spina have been in a relationship since the early 2000s. the couple lives in
Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...
's
Tribeca Tribeca ( ), originally written as TriBeCa, is a neighborhood in Lower Manhattan in New York City. Its name is a syllabic abbreviation of "Triangle Below Canal Street". The "triangle" (more accurately a quadrilateral) is bounded by Canal Str ...
neighborhood.Stephanie Cain (24 June 2020)
Embracing Work-Life Balance at the Dining Room Table
''
New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
''.


References


External links

*
''New York'' magazine profile
(2012) {{DEFAULTSORT:Panichgul, Thakoon Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Thakoon Panichgul American fashion designers Parsons School of Design alumni Thai emigrants to the United States Thakoon Panichgul Artists from Omaha, Nebraska People from Bellevue, Nebraska People from Sarpy County, Nebraska