SHOP PETER DO

It’s been almost two months since Peter Do’s eponymous design collective showed their Autumn/Winter 2022 collection at New York Fashion Week, the second since launching in 2018, and the brand is still processing the unanimously positive reviews. For The Cut’s fashion critic-at-large Cathy Horyn, the razor-sharp, eminently wearable collection contributed ‘a rich layer to the ground of New York fashion.’ Did one of the most talked about brands of the moment expect such a response? ‘It was a very happy moment for us,’ Peter Do replies graciously via Zoom from his airy Brooklyn studio. ‘But the best comments were when people said, “I want to wear everything, I want to buy the clothes.” That’s a glowing review to me.’

Born in Biên Hòa, Vietnam, Do [pronounced dough] was raised by his grandmother before moving to Philadelphia, USA at the age of 14 to join his parents. Always drawn to art and garment-making, he didn’t discover ‘fashion with a capital F’ until he moved to New York to study at the Fashion Institute of Technology. ‘In the suburbs of Philadelphia, you’re not exposed to much, but I know that I had a passion for making clothes. That was always my first love, and I still love that more than the glamorous side of things,’ he says. ‘I learned a lot from just living [in New York] and meeting like-minded people. We bonded over old fashion shows or designers we liked.’ Taking cues from Alexander McQueen, Martin Margiela and Helmut Lang helped shape Do’s clean, insouciant aesthetic and tailoring prowess.

Upon graduation, Do was awarded the inaugural LVMH Graduate Prize in 2014, and went on to work under one of his idols, Phoebe Philo, at Céline in Paris. ‘Céline was my fashion bootcamp,’ he says. ‘I learned so much about the atelier and how you develop a collection. ‘I played a very small part in the Phoebe Philo era, but she is a designer that truly follows her instincts.’ After Céline, he moved back to New York to become a senior designer at Derek Lam, where he had a more hands-on role, working on the shows and productions. ‘Together, these experiences were a good base for launching Peter Do. I felt ready and that I had some knowledge on how it all works,’ he explains. ‘I knew early on that working at these companies wasn’t for me. There were layers I didn’t like, and I wanted my freedom. I wanted to express the whole picture.’

Do’s founding partners are Lydia Sukato, his roommate who manages operations and logistics; Vincent Ho, CEO; designer An Nguyen and press director Jessica Wu. Aside from Sukato, the collective met online via Tumblr and Instagram over ten years ago, and now, Do likens them to siblings. ‘Thinking back to when we gathered in my living room five, six years ago, talking about starting our own thing, I told everyone I could never do it if we didn’t do it together,’ he explains. They had all felt like outsiders at times, so it was important to create a brand with an inclusive, family ethos at its heart. ‘We were all unhappy with where we were in the industry – we wanted to show that you could have a successful fashion company, but still be nice, respectful and kind, without turning into this fashion cliché.’

When setting up the label, the five friends were clear and aligned in their vision to always put the customer first. ‘I don’t like fuss. I’m not a destination designer, I’m not thinking about certain occasions or fantasy. We don’t want to alienate women or impose any rules,’ he says. ‘For us to be part of a new generation coming out of New York, we are speaking to people on a level saying: “You don’t need to sacrifice style or comfort – they can go together.” I think we’ll always be in that sweet spot.’ This element comes through in the label’s relaxed, unrestrictive silhouettes and there are no gimmicks, just great, innovative clothes. ‘The PD woman is an outfit repeater,’ Do adds. ‘There’s always reversible elements and things you can wear multiple ways. We are making clothes [with] a sense of play and there’s a dialogue between the woman and her closet. Finding new ways to wear garments means you can shop smarter, without having to constantly seek out newness.’

Do’s desire to remain relatively anonymous in the early days reflects his respect for his professional family. Pictures and videos of the five founders can be found online, but Do’s face is covered to deliberately maintain anonymity. Today, though, Do is without the signature face covering and we talk face-to-face. ‘I decided to be more forward this year. I want people to hear from me, not a press release,’ he says. ‘For the first four years, I wanted people to know that there’s more than one person behind the clothes, but I think people know that now. Every collection comes from a personal place, so without me speaking about it, it gets lost in translation, and there’s a huge part of the story missing.’

As the Peter Do design collective grows in stature and number, the collective’s core values and rituals aren’t changing. They all eat lunch and watch YouTube videos together in the studio, often socialising outside of work. ‘I started this company when I was 26 or 27, now we’ve all turned 30 so it feels like a different time in our lives. We used to go out and get drunk, now we go to museums or try a new restaurant. We became serious adults,’ Do laughs. ‘We all have dogs in the office too, so we’ve become responsible dog parents who go to bed at 9-10pm so we can get to the office early the next day. I feel like I’m in my 40s now. I’m just a boring adult!’

Peter Do’s Spring/Summer 2022 Home collection, which has just arrived at MATCHESFASHION, is a celebration of the design collective’s past, present and future in New York. In a handwritten note, the Vietnamese designer likens creating the collection to making pho with his late father as a teen, working together over time to turn a few simple ingredients into something special. ‘A good pho is the result of editing and reducing,’ he says, much like the collection itself – a series of sleek suits, long-line silk tunics inspired by traditional Vietnamese áo dài [translated as ‘long shirt’] and light pleated skirts in a tight palette of dusty pink, sage, khaki, and off-white.

‘Spring/Summer is the daytime collection. There’s more silk, lots of layering pieces. I’m usually in a lighter mood, so it feels more effortless and lived-in for spring, whereas winter is more structured and fashion-forward,’ Do adds. ‘Together, you have your everyday workwear pieces, then your more special evening pieces. That’s where my mind always goes for collections – I’m creating a full year of wardrobing.’ There’s no air of arrogance from the designer, the creative director and founder, just a quiet assurance that he and the team are building something strong.

The collective’s Autumn/Winter 2022 show notes explain what’s next as Peter Do builds on their latest well-received collection. Their innovative approach to wardrobing is resonating with press, buyers and stylists alike – Zendaya via her stylist, Law Roach, and Beyoncé have both worn Do’s designs, while First Lady Dr. Jill Biden’s office has requested them. ‘We’ve only just started the foundations, then there’s plumbing, building the walls, the roof; there’s so many other categories and products I want to explore,’ Do says. ‘We’ve barely scratched the surface.’