Thakoon steals his own designs for Target's line

RackedLA reports that writer Booth Moore of the LA Times is a wee bit disappointed that Thakoon Panichgul's collection for Target looks so much like his much higher-priced Thakoon collection: "the blue and white shibori shirtdress, the 'cyber floral' print circle skirt that ties at the waist, the preppy navy-and-green striped dress, they are all there, albeit with higher, junior-ified hemlines."

Which is a great thing for those of us who can't afford to spend $800 on a cotton skirt, and which Moore concedes "isn't such a big deal, except for those of us who DID spend money on the real thing. I bought two skirts from the runway collection. And for what I paid for them, well, I could have bought the whole Thakoon for Target collection, with pieces from $16.99 to $44.99. So I’m not so sure how I am going to feel when I see watered-down versions of my skirts walking down the street in a few months."

My take on all this? I wouldn’t spend $800 on a cotton skirt, EVER, even if I could afford it. So I will warmly welcome Thakoon’s budget line that looks so much like “the real thing”. But judge for yourself: pictured at left is the $1,350 shibori shirtdress from Thakoon's Spring 2008 runway collection. And on right is the $39.99 shibori shirtdress from the Thakoon for Target collection.