News feed
Peter Do made his official runway debut at New York Fashion Week last season, in a collection that was unapologetically nostalgic—and emotional. Inspired by his family’s Vietnamese heritage, he greeted every guest with a hand-written letter describing the process of making Pho with his parents, comparing it to the creation of a fashion collection. It captured the essence of the moment, a celebration of the fact that a child of immigrant parents could rise to the highest ranks of American fashion with his own show on the New York Fashion Week schedule. And at a cultural moment where Asian hate crime was on the rise around the world, his homage to his lineage felt all the more defiant.
But Do has shaken off the shackles of sentimentality this season. If last season was an introduction to Peter Do as a designer, this season was a solidification of Peter Do as a brand. A undeniable highlight of the fall winter ‘22 season, Do’s new collection took all the pieces in his wheelhouse—impeccable tailoring, statement outerwear, suiting—and elevated them to new heights. The suits were mega-oversized with visible stitched panels; tailored trousers were wide-legged and slashed at the thigh; eveningwear was elegant three-piece suits. The colour palette was simple: limited to blacks, whites, camels, and grays, and the fabrics were luxurious: cashmeres, merino wools, shearlings, silks. It wasn’t hard to spot that Do had trained under Phoebe Philo at Cèline.
“I named the collection ‘Foundation’ because I feel like it’s just the beginning for Peter Do building our house in New York,” Do told AnOther after the show. “Last season felt like our coming out, but moving forward into 2022 we are saying, ‘This is the language of the Peter Do world.’ These pieces are, hopefully, more fashion-forward and special.” To add to the feeling of specialness, Do cut 10 looks last minute, curating the collection down from 46 looks to 36. The message was clear: everything is intentional. If it isn’t the best possible iteration of a blazer, or the best possible iteration of keep-forever coat, it isn’t a part of the Peter Do offering.
In that sense, Do represents an approach to fashion consumption that feels increasingly rare in an era where trends come and go at frenetic speed. Anyone who spends much time on Instagram or, more likely, TikTok, knows the temptation to drastically overhaul your aesthetic every few months. Do’s clear and consistent vision is the antithesis to this thinking. “You don’t have to be constantly seeking out newness when you buy a thing that you really love, it always feels like it’s there for you,” he said. “That’s alway my philosophy when I design: that things have to be special but also have to serve a purpose. I don’t like to make things that you will wear once, I love an outfit repeater.” Having fully asserted himself as an emerging powerhouse in New York fashion, the hordes of PD outfit repeaters are only set to grow.
