The Innovators: Thakoon Creates Masai Scarves to Benefit Famine Victims

Lately, it seems some of our favorite names in fashion have been hard at work benefiting not only our wardrobes, but world causes.

One such innovator is Thakoon Panichgul, whose most recent collection for fall 2011 found inspiration in bold Masai fabrics. As it turns out, it wasn't just textiles that piqued Thakoon's interest in Africa: starting this month, sales from the designer's limited-edition Masai print scarves will go directly to benefit famine victims in the Horn of Africa.


How did the concept for a scarf benefiting the Horn of Africa come about? I was watching Anderson Cooper on CNN, who seemed to be the only person covering this humanitarian crisis.

Can you explain in your own words the nature of the crisis in the Horn of Africa?  It's one of the worst droughts to hit the area and is causing famine. As a result, people are dying by the thousands. 30,000 children under the age of 4 died in three months alone, and many more are predicted to die as the drought continues for a couple more months. This crisis is absolutely preventable.
 
This project seems even more appropriate given the African inspiration behind your most recent collection. Was this something you planned on doing when you were designing your Masai scarves?  We had the idea already to do limited edition scarves from this African-inspired plaid we showed for fall. But when we became aware of the crisis, my CEO Maria Tomei thought it would be great to donate all the proceeds from the sales to this cause and I thought it was a beautiful idea.

How will proceeds from the scarf be distributed or donated? We will donate 100% of the proceeds from the sale of the scarf to UNICEF because of their tremendous efforts in helping the children.

Where can people find the scarves? The scarf will be available exclusively on our website, www.thakoon.com. They are limited-edition so get them now before they sell out!

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