Photography by CLARA CULLEN
Photography by GABRIEL MOSES
Styling by STELLA GREENSPAN
Thakoon Panichgul’s path into print started with a short stretch of fashion jobs and one assistant role at Harper’s Bazaar. There, he found his sense of what media could be when the people making it are fully engaged in their craft; at the heart of it all is a belief in making work that feels considered, personal, and lasting. Panichgul later launched his own label, then returned to publishing as HommeGirls founder. The magazine keeps its focus narrow and deliberate, with long-form storytelling and sharp style preferred over microtrends and filler content.
HommeGirls values carefully crafted print publications—like tactile collectibles that offer true permanence. The idea is straightforward: menswear-inflected dressing for women, the people who wear it, and the writers and photographers who understand it from the inside; Panichgul builds a genuine community, not an empty echo chamber. In this conversation with hube’s editor-in-chief, he reflects on the enduring value of strong editorial voices and creative leadership, the future of publishing, and why timelessness still matters in fashion and culture.
Sasha Kovaleva: Many people drift into media, but few remain in it with the same sustained curiosity and passion you’ve shown. Could you walk us through your professional journey, and share the moments or encounters that most profoundly shaped it?
Thakoon Panichgul: I had been drawn to and was consuming fashion magazines voraciously ever since I discovered them around 12 or 13 years of age. After business school I moved to New York and was bouncing around a couple of fashion jobs until a friend who was working at Harper’s Bazaar as an assistant one day told me there was another assistant position available in the fashion writing department. I knew I had to go for it. Not because I wanted to write—actually the opposite—but I knew that it was a door in. At that time Kate Betts had just become editor-in-chief after Liz Tilberis, and the team she had put in place was still fresh. I wanted to be a part of that. I grew up devouring page after page of Liz Tilberis’s Bazaar (who didn’t?) and wanted to be part of that world. I still remember that first day when I sat at my desk for the first time and couldn’t believe it was the same office where Liz and all those legends I had looked up to had worked.
I worked with Melanie Ward, Brana Wolf, my direct boss William Middleton, Samira Nasr—so many amazing people who were all so serious about fashion (in a really wonderful way). At the time I really wanted to work closer with the clothes and the fashion stories than with writing, and I was so inspired by Melanie and Brana and the stories they were working on. That period was incredibly inspiring. There was no clocking-out mentality because I was so excited—and I think everyone was—by creating amazing fashion stories. I think that timeframe really shaped my sense of fashion and media.
SK: You entered fashion with a background in business—an unusual starting point in a field often driven by instinct and aesthetics. How has that perspective shaped the way you evaluate ideas today, and what makes a project feel truly resonant rather than simply trend-driven?
TP: I admire longevity in fashion—Rei Kawakubo, Miuccia Prada, brands that have staying power beyond trends. Looking back, the idea that brands have to grow nowadays, and how some transcend trends year to year and decade to decade, takes a certain kind of conviction, consistency, and precision. Those things make for a successful business and a successful brand. It doesn’t mean you can’t tap into instincts and aesthetics; it just means that instincts and aesthetics need conviction, precision, and consistency to make a sustained impact. Of course, trends have a role in all of this, but they’re only one component of the overall brand.
