Designer Education

Every year new designers come into the Fashion industry, making it hard to keep up with them all and appreciate their hard work. I am constantly learning about different designers whether they are brand new or have been in the business for decades. Sometimes it is a little embarrassing…you know, when you learn about a designer and for a while your thinking they’re brand new only to find out that they’ve been in the  business for 20 years. But I don’t think anyone know’s it all in the Fashion industry, it is always a learning experience. With that being said, let’s start with some Designer Education at random.

Designer: Thakoon Panichgul

Origin: Thailand

How he began: Thakoon began his fashion career as an intern at Showroom Seven in New York City. After his internship with Showroom Seven, Thakoon began to work his way up in the Fashion industry. He became an assistant in the fashion features department at Harper’s Bazaar, and later began taking classes at Parson’s the New School for Design. After making a few of his own pieces Thakoon was able to sell them to  a couple of buyers. His career really pushed off when he held a presentation for his pieces which landed his work in several stores.

Interesting Fact: Lady Obama wore a Thakoon dress the night President Obama accepted his nomination for president.

All about the bags!

Fall is one of the most anticipated seasons of the year when it comes to fashion. In my opinion Fall is the season that designers and others involved in fashion produce their best work. In Louis Vuitton’s Fall Fashion show 2011 all my eyes were on the bags!!!

New Designer Find

On a recent trip out of town I was desperate to find another suitcase since I had broken the old one I had by using it as a ladder. In a way I was happy that it broke because it gave me an excuse to buy another suitcase. My old suitcase was navy blue, no different then the hundreds of navy blue suitcases that go through baggage claim to get picked up by several passengers looking for their own. Well I got tired of looking for my suitcase in baggage claim and most of all I got tired of my suit case blending in with others. So I went on a shopping spree with a $60 budget in mind to find a medium size suitcase. I looked in Target, Marshalls and then finally Ross. I honestly did not expect to find anything in Ross, but to my surprise Ross had a decent supply of luggage including name brands. I constantly glanced at the white and black patterned suitcase thinking that would be perfect… it would definitely stand out in baggage claim. But for some reason my mind was telling me it’s probably over my budget. So I continued to look at the other suitcases which I didn’t like. Some were overpriced, others were cheap and cheaply made, and the rest were either way too big or way too small. After twenty minutes of browsing, I finally picked up the black and white patterened suitcase. I glanced at the label, Nicole Miller and thought hmm I’ve never heard of that brand. Then I looked at the price, $49.95.  In my head I was thinking perfect design, perfect size…something has to be wrong. Maybe a wheel doesn’t work properly. I proceeded to roll the Nicole Miller suitcase around Ross for about five minutes, turning the wheels every way they could go. Nothing was wrong with it and I didn’t need to contemplate anymore.

As soon as I got home I googled Nicole Miller. I had to find out who made this piece of luggage that I had fallen for. To my surprise I found out that the designer has a boutique in West Hollywood and in several locations on the East Coast. Nicole Miller also has expanded her brand to stores such as Nordstrom, JCPenney, and Saks. On top of carrying luggage, the brand  features clothing and accessories.

For more information on Nicole Miller, visit www.nicolemiller.com