Runway Review: Thakoon Spring 2014

The first time I became truly aware of Thakoon Panichgul's existence in the fashion world was while watching The September Issue. His frantic, yet still charming meeting with Anna Wintour kind of etched in my mind and made me really take notice of him. Cut to present day and the guy has done pretty well for himself (that's what usually happens when you get the Wintour seal of approval). Mandatory appearances in American Vogue editorials, as well as being worn on the red carpet by the likes of Diane Kruger and Rita Ora.

Thakoon's woman took quite a ladylike turn on the runway. Think tennis whites, pearls and lace for next spring. Although I've always associated Thakoon's work with prints, this time around he surprised me with a mostly non-color color palette.

Unlike most city slicker shows we've seen this week, I detected a lot of chic Parisian influences while watching this one. Firstly, pearls everywhere! Most memorably, long necklaces that morphed into cross-body bags evoked modern Coco Chanel, which I absolutely loved. Lace didn't look dainty at all when Thakoon used it to adorn constructed slip dresses and very smart oversized T-shirts.

The most blatantly sexy pieces were done in, I kid you not, patent leather. A blood red bra and sky blue skirt (color combo of the moment, apparently) looked like good performance pieces for girls like Rita Ora or Miley Cyrus. A more sophisticated example was a red dress that combined jersey on the upper half and leather on the bottom. Sexy without looking cheap.

The second half of the show was on the darker side of the spectrum - meaning black, which enabled the New York side of Thakoon's designs to come through. Crop tops and thigh slits couldn't be farther away from the Coco Chanel inspired looks at the beginning.

Red Carpet Wishlist

Photos from Style.com