Peter Do Brand Booklet

PETER DO

Images by Montis Songsombat

contents

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peter do nyc guide ss19

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fw19

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peter do

by Carly Smith

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eet Peter Do. His eponymous Brooklyn-based label is just a year and a half old, yet it’s already stocked at Net-a-Porter and is beloved by stylists and buyers everywhere. Meanwhile Do’s uniquely feminine suiting can be found inside the most fashion-forward magazines and filling the social media feeds of trend-averse tastemakers worldwide. The brand is sophisticated, thoughtful and detail-oriented; the person, equally so.

Do frequently visits art galleries and spends copious time in the library researching his collections. He translates his interests in art and interiors and his fascination with mundane objects into elements of design.

Spring/Summer 2019 featured wardrobe staples inspired by Irving Penn’s book Small Trades, whereas Fall/Winter 2019 references vintage cars and Spring/Summer 2020 utilizes colour in a way that praises the work of Mark Rothko and Ellsworth Kelly.

Each season the designer explores new themes and ways of working, but he always returns to his goal of making beautiful, interesting daywear for the modern woman – an objective that he shares with his former

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mentor, Phoebe Philo. While Do has garnered substantial attention for his sleek aesthetics, his utmost concern is wearability. He is continually refining his fits and developing new fabrics that stretch more and wrinkle less.

Despite the remarkable success of his early career, first at Celine and then at Derek Lam, and now with his namesake label, Do remains astonishingly humble. When speaking of the brand, he repeatedly uses “we” and references the team surrounding him. When it comes to discussing challenges, he’s as transparent as his signature trousers, unafraid to mention relatable concerns such as cash flow. He believes in sharing ideas and revealing his process, and is committed to showing that luxury lies in quality and doesn’t need to feel unapproachable.

Image by Montis Songsombat

How would you describe your relationship with New York?

I love it. I don’t think there’s anywhere like it. I lived in Europe for a few years between London and Paris, but I missed New York so much that I moved back. There’s an energy here that syncs with mine.

Everyone is hustling and it feels as if you can do anything you set out to. I feel energized by everyone around me. The snippets of sounds we hear, from people’s conversations to the sirens and the birds – they’re an amalgamation of different facets of life that you’re put in the middle of when living in New York. One of the things we’re known for as a brand is combining contrasting elements.

There’s a strong dichotomy that runs through the clothing that inherits its spirit from life in New York. We also produce everything here.

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Describe the style of the Peter Do brand.

Polished and tailored, yet fun. We do calf-length skirts and kneelength shorts in sophisticated materials including silk, satin and leather, yet there are cut-outs and slits. When the woman moves, you see a flash of skin. It’s a demure yet cheeky way of playing with the duality that lies within the brand.

Image by Montis Songsombat

Can you tell us about your fall collection?

I had never seen a car before moving to Philadelphia at the age of 14. In Vietnam I lived on a farm and only ever experienced bikes or motorbikes, but in Philadelphia my family had three cars. Suddenly I spent a lot of time in the car – it’s a very American lifestyle.

I realized how overlooked this experience is and how beautiful cars can be.

We take them for granted, but inside a car we’re so protected. There’s also such a visual contrast between the interior and exterior. We started researching other artists who had explored this topic and came across John Chamberlain – he smashed cars together to create sculptures. We also looked at the colours of vintage cars and this became our palette.

We developed a fabric out of a satin that was bonded and then crushed it together in Chamberlain’s manner.

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Mark Rothko, Untitled (Red on Red), 1969. Courtesy of Sotheby’s.

8 How would you describe the modern woman?

A woman who’s making the most of her day. She doesn’t have a glam squad. She wants to look good, but also be comfortable. She’s hustling, doesn’t dilly-dally and needs to be efficient. She has a vigour and energy that mirrors the city and her lifestyle.

We design our clothes to carry you through the day. I’m interested in subtle details and making improvements to fabrics and fits. I listen to the problems women have with their clothes and make changes accordingly. I work to create fabric that doesn’t wrinkle, add pockets to dresses and make pants for women with hips.

How do you find the experience of designing for your own label compared to large fashion houses such as Celine?

Images by Montis Songsombat

9 There’s a huge difference. I was designing clothes, but now my job requires so much more. I have a team and more admin, but I also have more freedom to make decisions about our campaigns and production.

After three seasons at Celine, I knew I was outgrowing my job. I had so much more to say than what I was able to through the clothes. Now I can share my point of view through branding, PR and sales.

How has Instagram impacted your growth?

All of our initial buyers found us there, then word of mouth trickled out. We’re copied quite often – it’s a double-edged sword. People often think we popped up overnight, when really it started by building a visual language far before the brand launched. The people who have followed us for a while resonate with us because we pull the curtain back. There are so many luxury brands that sell a fantasy, but people want to be able to relate. When I wake up in the morning, I post whatever I feel like posting. I don’t plan it out and I think that’s more genuine.

What are your hopes for the future?

We want to launch new categories such as shoes and bags, open a boutique, do a runway show and host more events.

PETER’S GUIDE TO NYC BY: CARLY SMITH Being a New York native, Peter Do knows a thing or two about getting around the Big Apple. He shared with us his favourite places to visit in NYC. STAY Dumbo, it’s cute and quiet. There are so many interesting shops and it’s by the water – Manhattan Bridge and Brooklyn Bridge are close by, so you can walk across both. Try 1 Hotel Brooklyn Bridge for stylish serenity.

10 EAT Flushing is my favourite for Asian food, especially Mapo for Korean barbecue, although Jongro BBQ in Midtown is also great. Noodle Village in Chinatown serves perfect soup dumplings.

Then Jing Fong for dim sum and Madame Vo for modern Vietnamese.

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Images by Montis Songsombat

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SHOP Totokaelo is worth dropping into downtown, but above 14th Street you might as well go to the most iconic department store in New York, Bergdorf Goodman. Dover Street Market is also a real experience.

Image by Montis Songsombat (top/middle), image by David Luraschi (left)

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Spring/Summer19 TOP leather pant | $1,230 leather jacket | $3,600

LEFT clear spacer shirt | $600 MIDDLE slim fit tailored pant | $500 car blazer | $1,650

RIGHT clear spacer coat | $1,200

Image by David Luraschi

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fall 20 20 rtw

by Nicole Phelps

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oda Operandi’s Lisa Aiken hosted a dinner for Peter Do a couple of weeks ago. The e-tailer had just launched its first Do trunk show and gathered other supporters to celebrate, but it was no ordinary fashion night out. First there was the location: a Taiwanese restaurant in Bushwick called Win Son—delicious.

Then there was the karaoke party that accompanied dessert. Rare is the industry occasion when a designer belts out his favorite tune—in this case, The Backstreet Boys’s “As Long As You Love Me”— but Do is confident as hell, and determined to do things his own way, and he has good reason. Fall is his fourth collection, and he’s already landed 40 of the top stores globally.

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Images by Montis Songsombat

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Ellsworth Kelly, Cité (oil on wood),1951. Courtesy of SFMOMA.

DO Visit the David Zwirner gallery, the Noguchi Museum and the Guggenheim. It’s also inspiring to explore different neighbourhoods – you can walk two blocks into a completely different vibe.

Working his way through the racks at an appointment high over the west side, Do said he’d been watching a lot of horror movies, Suspiria and Midsommar among them. His fall collection is a tribute to what’s called the final girl. “She’s the one who survives the journey and comes out stronger at the end.” He made no literal nods to those films—his point of view is too well developed for that; instead he was attracted to the aesthetics of power and strength.

There’s been a lot of tailoring in this week’s collections, but nobody’s jackets are as boss as Do’s: strong-shouldered, fitted through the waist, and elongated past the hips. They’re cleverly made to boot, with an option to button them to be either single or double-breasted, and featuring a pleated lining that increases shoulder mobility.

Do launched both shoes and knitwear

Image by Montis Songsombat

“She’s the one who survives the journey and comes out stronger at the end.” for fall, and he said they instantly became his two best-selling categories.

He’s making his shoes at the footwear factory that Ann Demeulemeester and Rick Owens use; Do’s squaretoe boots with metal accents share an extreme profile with Owens’s especially. Do designs substantial turtlenecks with a stripe down one arm that mirrors the tattoo that extends from his neck to the back of his hand—is that next level branding or what? He’s also onto something with the chunky shrugs that he layered over V-neck dresses. Sexy ribbed knit dresses and flared leggings made with a silk viscose that’s cooling to the touch were coveted too.

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Fall/Winter20

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TOP leather spacer blazer | $1,900 MIDDLE leather button-up | $900 BOTTOM cutout leather blazer | $1,550 LEFT leather spacer blazer | $1,900 half-half leather bootleg | $990

Images by Montis Songsombat