Even when doing something traditionally uncool—like getting a celebrity to walk the runway—New York designer Peter Do manages to be exceedingly cool. For his Spring/Summer 2023 collection, one in which the former Phoebe Philo protege unveiled menswear for the first time, Do tapped the K-Pop star JENO to open the runway. The appearance sent the NCT member’s 3.4 million Instagram followers into overdrive—but the actual look itself was anything but showy: a simple black blazer, with oversized satin lapels and cinched at the waist, worn over a crisp white shirt and tailored satin trousers. Even when breaking the internet, Peter Do is resolutely and unapologetically himself.
It was another standout collection from a designer who has been going from strength to strength since launching his eponymous label in 2018. Having spent years cutting his teeth under Philo at Cèline, Do unveiled his namesake brand to almost immediate fanfare, quickly racking up a coterie of stylish fans including Zendaya, Beyoncè, and Celine Dion. This is due, in part, to his impeccable eye and obsession with detail: his collections often look simple, but are anything but. Take S/S ‘23, for example. The palette was almost entirely monochrome—blacks, whites, navys, and beiges—and tailoring featured heavily, be it suiting, simple outerwear like trench coats, or shirting. The devil was in the detail. The traditional blazer was deconstructed and put back together, with exposed seams left intentionally behind. Trousers feature discrete adjustable waistlines so they can be worn on the hip (very Y2K) or the waist. Shirts are oversized and billowing, transformed into brilliant shirt dresses with knife-precise pleating.
As for the menswear? It’s not as big of a deal as it seems, not to Do at least. “The eternal question of ‘who is the Peter Do woman?’ has always been limiting to me,” he explained to press. “Now, I’m excited to say that Peter Do is for everyone, because we don’t just dress women or men, we dress people.” He’s right in noting that men had been wearing his clothing long before they were affixed with the official “menswear” label. Do’s remarkable tailoring is a natural fit for anyone looking to feel both effortlessly cool and head-turningly polished at the same time. Expect to see it on plenty more A-listers, and impeccably dressed people on the street, in the future.
