Peter Do. RTW Fall 2021

 

(Images:  Peter Do)

Peter Do, for his own signature label is undoubtedly creating some of the most precision cut clothing to date.  The New York based designer is only 4 seasons in as an emerging presence in the industry, having moved to America when he was 14 from Vietnam and learning to access the extremely competitive luxury garment trade, despite being mentored by famed designers such as Phoebe Philo and Derek Lam.  His background story holds no obvious cues to what could be deemed as a back door advantage.  With an industry that pertains to who-you-know, it is also an business that spits out independent designers in a ruthless succession, while the many hope to at least sign off on a 'x' collaborative deal with a sports brand conglomerate or be given  the chance to become a creative director for one of the multi brand luxury labels.   There is no doubt it is an excruciatingly tough market for new designers to not only be original but also profitable, all the while facing, in a post (and possibly even a redux) Covid-19 world, an uncertainly that we all haven't witnessed before.  Sans the current and last US President and other leaders, staring at an over juiced stock market, as a feigned indication that the normal will one day return.   I think deep down we know, that it ain't going be the same.     

Still, despite the hardships and frustration of being a creative in a era of calamity, it is the ability to complete a project that, in someways, can be immortalized by its moment.  Do has been able to achieve this with his collections, being able to accentuate his skills in defining a modernist template that offers, as mentioned, a precision which is remarkable.  As his styling and fittings over the last four lookbooks, which, from the lockdown period of 2020 and 2021 with designers unable to runway shows have relied on photo shoots to present their latest collections.  I can think of two major brand's whose designers have rapidly risen to the ranks, have, for the most part, rushed their lookbook presentations, with both stylist and artistic direction falling to the side.   Some relish in times of pressure, while others, pertaining to advantaged positions, often take it for granted and end up folding.   The struggling artisan has always shined through.  Therefor a zen parable of the “good horse, bad horse” becomes relevant, that it doesn't matter which one is the better or worst, practice is forever and should never be taken for granted.  And sometimes it is the bad horse which ends up being the better one.

For Do's Fall 2021 Ready-to-Wear collection it is the exactitude of his cuts that are absolutely masterful,  while the avant-garde trend for 2021 begins to firmly become an imprint for the rest of the year, Do's symmetrically appealing styles are keeping in lockstep with his interest to pursue a more structural imprint.  In lieu of what could be a widespread deconstruction styles hitting lookbooks and runways later in the year.  Do has mixed his take on the avant-garde with 1920s Bohemian looks while allowing a homage to the 1990s experimental runway styles, which is in similarity to Jean Paul Gaultier's 90's greatness.   Also noted is Do's color palette which is subdued within its balanced tones, allowing the black and white to set an equilibrium of the styles presented, reflecting an urban charm.