Instant Gratification at Thakoon

NEW YORK, United States — Thakoon Panichgul sees the irony in showing immediately shoppable spring clothes when there is a foot of snow on the ground, as he did on the first Thursday of New York Fashion Week.

Of course, a day earlier, it was warm enough outside to go bare-legged. Panichgul, for one, embraces the chaos. Those spikey, unpredictable weather patterns, which produce a “tumultuous kind of energy,” helped to inform the designs for his latest drop of 10 looks, as well as the installation where he showcased them at a Chelsea performance space. Guests crowded under a mirrored ceiling, the floor strewn with flower petals, as models walked into a half-circle formation, a digital video displaying fragmented sketches and prints projected behind them on a 12-foot screen.

The immersive environment, created by Alex de Betak, was a departure for Panichgul, who has typically opted for a traditional runway. But since re-inventing his business as a direct-to-consumer play — what he likes to call “designer fashion now” — with the backing of Hong Kong-based investment vehicle Bright Fame Fashion, he has wanted to bring a stronger sense of immediacy to the proceedings.

“It’s more focused, and more about the newness that’s coming in this drop, than trying to stretch out a show of 40 looks or so,” he said at a preview just hours before that first snowflake hit the ground. “That format doesn’t seem to work with our business model as much.”

What does seem to be working are the established house codes: shirting with tie-knot details, pyjama-silk pants, chambray stripes and artfully draped scarf-print dresses. This particular iteration zeroed in on the classic trench, which was re-imagined with digital floral insets, or as a kicky skirt. (And for the truly impatient, there was a Patagonia-inspired fleece to go with those lightweight florals.) It’s becoming easier to see the woman Thakoon is dressing in his wares. And that means he’s getting somewhere.