The Next Great Minimalist

Vietnamese American designer Peter Do talks menswear, growth and four years of building the hottest brand of the moment

- Cherry Mui

Two days after presenting one of the buzziest shows at New York Fashion Week spring-summer 2023, Peter Do is back in his studio in Brooklyn's Sunset Park neighbourhood. He is wearing items from his fresh-off-the-runway collection for his Tatler photoshoot, as well as his signature face mask a habit and preference he'd established way before the pandemic to symbolise his rejection of the fame accorded to designers rather than to their work.

The room is filled with sunshine, shoe boxes and fitting boards from the show, working desks full of fabrics, sketches, and a cute photo of Uni, his Shiba Inu.

The show was a blockbuster. Korean boyband NCT's Jeno opened for Do in a double-breasted jacket over a white shirt-both with a cut-out exposing a flash of muscled back and platform boots, marking the official menswear debut for the designer's eponymous label. Seulgi of Red Velvet sat front row, a reminder of the brand's unexpected collaboration with K-pop giant SM Entertainment. Additionally, Do and his team had partnered with TômTex Co to create 100 per cent biodegradable materials that look like patent leather-made from food waste-for tank tops and pants.

The brand's menswear collection may have been a long time coming, but, given the popularity of the womenswear and unisex range, it was a natural development. "I feel like it's always been here; we have had so many male customers [starting from] the first season," Do says. Indeed, the number of male friends who would ask Do for a pair of his signature boots in men's sizes was testament to the demand, and its release was greeted with relief."Oh my God, finally.' That's the reaction we generally get," Do says.