As a huge fan of NARS, I am excited to show you this exciting collection which is set to hit stores in May.
NARS founder and creative director Francois Nars and fashion designer Thakoon Panichgul have been longtime collaborators, with their work seen on the runways of New York Fashion Week.
This time, Francois partnered with Thakoon to create a limited edition nail collection.
Thakoon, who was born in Thailand, raised in Omaha and is now based in New York, has carved a niche for himself in the ever evolving world of fashion. Spending four years as a writer and editor for Harper’s Bazaar, keeping up with the trends and churning out stories about fashion, Thakoon decided to go beyond chronicling style by creating his own designs. After studying at Parsons School of Design, presenting his first ready-to-wear collection and becoming one of the three recipients of the Vogue/CFDA Fashion Fund, Thakoon has developed a cult following of women who could not get enough of his feminine, modern and romantic designs.
For NARS, Thakoon channeled his creative genius into producing six limited edition nail polish shades inspired by the vibrant colors found in Indian spice markets.
The same vibrant colors seen in his Spring/Summer 2012 Collection.
All polish shades are named after Indian spices or medicinal plants.
This is Anardana, named after the pomegranate seed which is used as an acidifying agent for curries and chutneys. It’s an azalea pink.
This is Ratin Jot which was inspired by the alkanet root that has been used as a dye since the earliest recorded history.
Ratin Jot is an orchid purple.
This is Amchoor, inspired by the sour mango powder that gives fish curries tartness.
Amchoor is a bright yellow.
This next shade is Kutki. It was named after the Himalayan Gentian, an endangered plant of the Himalayas. Its flowers are deep blue.
Kutki is described as a powder blue.
This next shade is Thakoon’s favorite from the collection. Koliary was named after Ceylon Hydrolea, a plant whose leaves have cleansing and healing effects when beaten to a pulp and applied as a poultice.
It’s a cyan blue.
Also included in the collection is a shade that will only be made available at the NARS Boutique on Bleecker Street. Lal Mirchi is a gorgeous shade inspired by the red chili, the hottest flavor on earth.
It’s a mandarin red, a color that was seen numerous times on the runway during Thakoon’s S/S 2012 show.
I need this color in my life. Actually, I need all six colors in my life.
Q&A
In this interview with Thakoon, he talks about his inspirations, this collaboration and why he loves NARS.
You’ve collaborated with NARS on many of your Fashion Week shows. What do you enjoy about working with the brand in creating the looks each season?
Each season, they are more open for us to play and experiment with ideas. It’s such a great collaboration because of the artistic freedom we have to express. NARS thrives on this and that’s why it’s been an amazing partnership.
How did the collaboration come about? Why was NARS the right brand to do this with?
They’ve always understood the sense of color here at Thakoon. And every season when we sat down to talk about inspiration, it became clearer and clearer that we should be doing a special product utilizing the color play. And once they saw the color board for Spring, it just made so much sense that we could be doing a nail project together.
What was your inspiration for the nail polish collection?
The colors were inspired by the amazing palette in India: the spices, the holy festival colors. It was the palette I was working on for the ready to wear collection. And we saw it as an amazing palette for nails because they’re so bold, fun and rich.
How does the nail polish collection tie into your SS12 collection?
The palette came right from the colors we did for my ready to wear collection.
Why did you choose the shades in the collection?
It was the inspiration of India, a place that is so visually colorful.
What’s your must-have shade from this collection?
I love the turquoise shade Koliary. It’s so fresh and unexpected.
How important to a woman’s look is her nail polish? What do you think a woman’s nail polish says about her?
It’s such a great form of expression of personality because it’s so simple, yet really visually powerful. Nails can be seductive, feminine, playful, edgy…all with a single change in color.
Besides the Nail Polish collection, what is your favorite NARS product?
The skincare is amazing. I religiously use the NARS Aqua Gel Hydrator.
Thakoon for NARS will be available at Rustan’s The Beauty Source in May. The colors will be up on www.narscosmetics.com beginning May 1 for $18 each.
