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Vivian Chou, a recent Wharton graduate, has taken a majority interest in designer Thakoon Panichgul's 11-year-old company, according to Vogue. Chou is the daughter of textile mogul and investor Silas Chou, who served as Honorary Chair of this year's Met Gala. Vivian leads Hong Kong-based family investment vehicle Bright Fame Fashion, and Thakoon is its first major acquisition since being established in 2014, Businesss of Fashion reports.
Back in March, WWD reported that Chou and his daughters — Veronica, 30, and Vivian, 22 — were "looking into buying a designer brand that could be converted to an online, fast-fashion powerhouse with designer-level price points and quality." Thakoon's name came up in that article. Vivian also sat in the front row at Thakoon's spring 2016 show.
Along with the acquisition news, Thakoon announced a new strategy based on what the brand is calling "real time" fashion or a "show now, see now, buy now, wear now" approach. BoF says that the focus will be on e-commerce, and price points will remain the same. The brand isn't currently listed on the official calendar for New York Fashion Week in February and is rumored to be ditching a runway show to focus on the new strategy.
Thakoon isn’t the only brand trying to change fashion’s calendar and show products closer to when shoppers can actually buy them. Last week, Proenza Schouler announced the brand wouldn’t release images of its pre-fall collection or do any promotion until the items were actually in stores in April.