Fashion designer Thakoon Panichgul is back with a new platform to show off how you can dress like one of the boys and stay in style.
The designer, who put his namesake brand on hold in 2017, is back in the fashion game with a new zine, titled HommeGirls. The zine will look at and discuss the influences of menswear on women’s style.
Keeping up with the times, the project utilises multiple platforms – part zine, part Instagram and part website. The projects Instagram account was created in March of this year and features a multitude of menswear inspired images – subtlety hinting at what was to come. Now, it has been announced via that Instagram account that a new fashion magazine is hitting the scenes.
The new project pays hommage “to the girl who likes boy’s, boyfriend’s, and the men’s department“. While looking at the influences of menswear on women’s fashion, the zine also showcases outfits and the stories of a select bunch of women who are taking style into their own hands.
The HommeGirls project is an age away from the feminine pieces Panichgul created for his label before he announced the brand would be taking a break to restructure. The label is set to relaunch towards the end of 2019.
Developing and funding the new magazine, Panichgul told Vogue that it was very much a passion project. “Thinking about fashion, where I want to be, and what my interests are during my sabbatical, I kept on going back to cool, stylish women like (stylists) Brana Wolf and Grace Coddington,” he told the fashion publication. “I asked myself, ‘Why do I like these women?’ And it came down to the fact that they wear simple clothes.”
Published in the manifesto on the HommeGirls website, Panichgul expresses his frustration with where fashion is today. Holding social media and the likes of red carpets accountable, the designer believes, “Fashion is on the verge of becoming just another form of entertainment, one more thing to distract us from the realities of daily life”.
Wondering where all the real clothes have gone, Panichgul questions why fashion designers aren’t designing anything worthy of being worn more than once. The designer has also said he’s interested in creating a HommeGirls label, featuring collaborations with other designers, that would be sold on the website.
The debut issue of HommeGirls is available for purchase now. The magazine is set to be published four times a year.
Like Yohji Yamamoto said, “A pair of brilliantly cut cotton trousers can be more beautiful than a gorgeous silk gown.”
Are you a homme girl? Let us know what you think of Panichugal’s passion project in the comments.