Visits: 21
The wool knit bouclé wrap coat that opens Thakoon Panichgul’s lookbook is evocative of the way we live now. It’s cut like a bathrobe, but it’s safe for the bodega “if you need to run to the deli for milk.” the designer says. Once upon a time pajamas on the street were a punchline; in our new work-from-home reality, they’re not an uncommon sight. Panichgul designs his direct-to-consumer line with an eye to his customers’ day-to-day needs. His e-commerce site provides him with a constant stream of data; when the sweatsuits drop, he reports, they sell out quickly.
This collection is targeted to the department stores that came calling when “real clothes for real people” started trending amidst the pandemic. It’s a step above his DTC offering, but it retains the loungey aesthetic that so many of us have adopted during the lockdowns of the last year. The sweatpants are overlaid with a patchwork grid of poplin, and the sweatshirt comes cropped with eyeletted sleeves. A close-up view of the pant suit reveals that the edges are piped, yes, just like a pair of pajamas.
A couple of years ago Panichgul launched a multiplatform side project. Homme Girls is a magazine and an Instagram account for women who like to wear men’s clothes, and it’s attracted enough attention that retailers have been inquiring about a Homme Girls label. He’s designed a few pieces, including a capsule collection for the London department store Browns, and the sartorial POV of the endeavor has rubbed off on some key pieces here—that wool bouclé robe coat and a more tailored coat in a sharp but cozy shade of turmeric included.
