At a time when fashion has become more about entertainment than design, it takes some guts to show just clothes — which is exactly what Peter Do did for his debut at Paris Fashion Week.
It marked a homecoming for the New York-based designer, who began his career at Celine under Phoebe Philo. “This was my fashion bootcamp,” he recalled backstage before the display at the Palais de Tokyo. “I fell in love with working with a house, the process.”
Since then his minimalist creations have propelled him to the finals of the LVMH Prize and the ANDAM awards, and made him one of the rising stars of New York Fashion Week. This month, Do made his debut as creative director of Helmut Lang, and a collaboration with Banana Republic is set to hit stores in October.
With so much going on it felt appropriate to pare back his namesake collection, he said. Edited down to 40 looks, the coed lineup included pieces from his upcoming Banana Republic capsule, like a filmy deconstructed black trenchcoat worn by Maggie Maurer, or a ribbed black turtleneck with detachable sleeves.
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He doubled down on tailored looks in a palette of neutrals set off with pops of lipstick red. Suit jackets were spliced at the midriff with a band of creased lining fabric, or chopped off and layered over a white shirtdress or skintight ribbed knits.
The collection was full of covetable wardrobe essentials that offered a cerebral take on office dressing: a beige trenchcoat, ivory bonded satin pants and a monochrome colorblock pleated leather skirt among them.
At times Do’s attempts to reinvent the basics felt a little forced, as with baggy pants slit down the front to expose a contrasting underlayer, and cinched jackets with jutting shoulders. But the focus on actual garments came as a welcome break from the front-row hysteria that has become standard at many Paris shows.
Do, who has collaborated with K-pop powerhouse SM Entertainment in the past, had no pop stars walking or attending the show this time around. “We really want the clothes to speak for themselves this season, so I wanted no gimmick, no set, no weird lighting — just clothes on a beautiful casting,” he said.
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