Title: Peter Do’s Debut at Helmut Lang Showcases the Hustler Mindset of New York Fashion Week
Date: September 9, 2023
New York Fashion Week is in full swing, and the city’s hubris and hustler mentality are on display. While established designers like Ralph Lauren and Peter Do made marquee events on the official calendar, it’s the young, independent designers who are pushing boundaries and creating interesting fashion outside of the traditional fashion week schedule.
One such designer is Rachel Comey, whose Tuesday show took place in a NoHo alley and featured a collaboration with performance artist Joan Jonas. Comey’s garments, such as gray sweater dresses with roped necklines and backward denim jackets with denim skirts, are intelligent and unique, appealing to the thinking woman.
Batsheva Hay, known for her wackadoo dresses inspired by 1950s couture, organized a last-minute show at a sushi bar in Hudson Yards. The designer, who decided to forgo the industry route, believes that the fashion system has let everyone down. Her dresses were modeled by notable figures such as “Bottoms” director Emma Seligman and author Amy Fine Collins. The show was heckled by writer Lynn Yaeger, adding an unexpected twist.
Terrence Zhou’s Bad Binch TongTong also took a last-minute approach, featuring dancers wearing abstracted lobster claws and giraffe head boas. Zhou’s pieces are not polished but convey a sense of humor and release, allowing people to find refuge in fashion.
Peter Do, a 32-year-old designer who previously worked for Phoebe Philo, made his highly anticipated debut at Helmut Lang during the fashion week. Do aims to create something that truly represents New York, combining the mix of laziness, luxury, and degradation that epitomizes the city. His collection featured suits with seat-belt sashes, bubble shapes with couture-y tails, and lots of denim. Do collaborated with poet Ocean Vuong, who wrote a prose used on the runway and across tank tops and shirting.
While some may criticize Do for reinterpreting the codes of Helmut Lang, the collection exudes contemporary comfort and pride in one’s body, regardless of its appearance. The standout looks were the raw and less refined pieces that still maintained precision. Tank tops paired with leather pants and high heel boots, as well as button-up shirts with stiff jeans, captured the essence of Do’s generation.
The question arises of whether minimalism has become too corporate and anodyne, lacking the grit and genuine weirdness it was once synonymous with. However, Peter Do’s collection proves that with just a tank top and a low-slung pair of black pants, it’s possible to make minimalist fashion feel gristly and genuinely interesting.
In a fashion week filled with hustle and unexpected shows, it’s the young, independent designers like Peter Do who are injecting new life into New York fashion. Their unique perspectives and boundary-pushing designs are what make the city’s fashion scene truly exciting and worth watching.