Thakoon faces restructuring after making jump to see-now-buy-now

By

Kate Dingwall

Published
Mar 20, 2017

Designer Thakoon Panichgul has announced his eponymous label will be on pause as it undergoes a brand restructuring. This news comes just a few months after Thakoon switched over to the see-now-buy-now schedule.

Thakoon may have moved too quickly when switching to the see-now-buy-now model. BrightFame Fashion, Thakoon's main investor, has pointed fingers at the in-season buying model as the reason for the brand's need to restructure.

“We have recognized that the business model is ahead of the current retail environment. Therefore, we are taking a pause and an eventual restructure,” said a spokesperson for BrightFame Fashion, in a press statement.

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Thakoon switched over to the see-now-buy-now model last September. Thakoon believed the way to successfully integrate the see-now-buy-now model was to sell direct-to-consumer. After switching the new model, Thakoon cut out middleman wholesalers -– immediately following Thakoon’s bi-annual runway show, consumers could purchase looks right away off Thakoon’s website and in Thakoon's brick-and-mortars. 

Thakoon told the fashion press that the see-now-buy-now model was a learning experience to help further build the brand in ‘the next evolution of Thakoon”.

Thakoon’s ladylike designs have been favored by Anna Wintour, Michelle Obama, and Sarah Jessica Parker. Thakoon, who burst onto the fashion scene in 2004, took out the CFDA Swarovski Award for Best Womenswear Designer along with the Vogue/CFDA Fashion Fund.

Thakoon was the first brand to be backed by Bright Fame Fashion, an investment firm run by Vivian and Silas Chou.