At left, a look from Thakoon Panichgul’s spring 2008 ready-to-wear collection, shown at New York Fashion Week in September of 2007. At right, a look from Panichgul’s limited-edition collection for Target, which debuts later this month.

We rue the day we passed up a deeply discounted (yet still rather pricey) Thakoon coat while on a trip to Seattle but are somewhat comforted by the announcement that designer Thakoon Panichgul‘s bargain-priced ($16.99 to $44.99) collection for Target hits stores nationwide on December 28. Part of Target’s ongoing GO International program of limited-edition collections by young designers (Richard Chai, for example), the women’s apparel and swimwear will be available through January. What to expect from Thai-born, Omaha-raised, and Boston University- and Parsons-educated Panichgul? Designs evocative (or just plain identical) to those of his spring 2008 ready-to-wear collection. Plenty of color and graphic prints, including a blue and white shibori print (pictured above, shown on the runway in September 2007 and now in a version for Target), a large floral pattern in yellow and green, and a signature diagonal stripe that pops up throughout the collection. (Pictured at right is the “Floral Camo” cotton canvas coat. Say that five times fast.) Given Michelle Obama‘s fondess for Thakoon, Panichgul is likely to be the first fashion designer to have his work simultaneously show up on the First Lady and in Target stores. Click “continued…” to see six more soon-to-be-purchasable looks from the collection.