How Thakoon’s Resilience and Versatility Are Helping Him Overcome the Current Crisis
For Small Business Saturdays, Vogue will be spotlighting an independent fashion business every weekend—and the brilliant finds you can shop to support their bottom lines.
“It’s definitely a challenging time for all of us,” says Thakoon Panichgul, in response to a question about how his team are coping in the face of the ongoing COVID-19 crisis. “But we are learning to adapt and work on what we can do now until, hopefully, things get back to normal. We know that everyone is in the same boat, so we try to not dwell on what we can’t do, but on what we can do.”
It’s a sentiment that many in the fashion industry can relate to, even if we can’t express it as eloquently (and succinctly) as Panichgul. Whether it’s designers pivoting to producing face masks and hospital gowns, or multi-million-dollar donations from some of the world’s biggest brands, the fashion community has rallied together to support those who need it most right now to impressive ends. All the same, there is something to be said for the ability of fashion itself to offer moments of joy and escapism in these troubling times—and for those in a position to spare it, treating yourself to a new piece from one of your favorite designers could do more to help them than you might think.
“We might not feel like it at the moment because we’re still dealing with the news as it unfolds and also just being in all the time, but human nature will take over that feeling and we all will want to find happiness, or escape, or positivity somehow,” Panichgul adds. “I do think that fashion can lift the mood. There are creative ways that you can dress for working from home, even funny, playful ways—mixing sweatpants with jewelry or kitten heels, for example. Why not?” (For those looking to indulge in the kind of whimsical look Panichgul is describing, his online store has everything you need to do just that.)
If anybody understands the need to be constantly adaptable, after all, it’s Panichgul. Following his buzzy debut in 2004, the designer swiftly became a hot commodity within the industry, dressing the likes of Michelle Obama and Sarah Jessica Parker. After relaunching his label in 2016 with major financial backing in an attempt to harness the see-now-buy-now trend, he again took a sabbatical a year later, reemerging in 2019 with a contemporary direct-to-consumer line that has seen him produce more of his reliably well-made pieces at a more competitive price point.
