Peter Do Is the New Creative Director of Helmut Lang
Peter Do, a rising star in New York fashion, has been named creative director of Helmut Lang. The appointment as head of both the brand’s men’s and women’s collections, comes with an official start date of May 15th. Which will give him plenty of time to prepare for his debut collection slated for September during New York Fashion Week.
“Last year, when I was thinking about the next move in my career, one thing remained consistent even when everything else felt uncertain. I needed to continue doing my part in helping the city I love most regain its stature as the center of gravity for everyone who cares about radical thinking in fashion,” Do wrote on Instagram, celebrating the news. “During the most formative days of my own fashion education, no one embodied this spirit more definitively than Helmut Lang. As such, it is my deep honor to be entrusted with ushering in the next chapter of Helmut Lang's legacy. I am thrilled to learn from the foundations this house stands on and to continue creating new, energetic clothes that inspire people to challenge their understanding of what is possible when it comes to expressing their individuality.”
Founded in 1986, by the Austrian Lang, the eponymous label quickly became known for its sharp lines and elegant designs that put the designer in conversation with contemporaries like Rei Kawakubo and Yohji Yamamoto. In 2005, Lang left fashion behind to work as an artist, and the label was revived two years later with Michael and Nicole Colovos at the helm. They stayed on until 2014, and in 2017, Hood By Air’s Shayne Oliver was tapped to design the brand’s spring 2018 collection. Following that short stint, the mostly unknown Mark Thomas and Thomas Cawson took over for a few years before departing after the spring 2020 season. Since then, the label has been led by an in-house design team.
For many, Do’s appointment is a well-deserved one, as it recognizes the work the designer has accomplished through his five years at his own brand. Founded in 2018, Peter Do gained a fast following for its minimalist take on downtown fashion. Strong tailoring, deconstruction, and a rejection of gendered dressing quickly propelled Do to a place among the new guard of New York designers. Born in Bien Hoa, Vietnam, Do immigrated to Philadelphia when he was 2014. He went on to study fashion design at the Fashion Institute of Technology in NYC, where he won the inaugural LVMH Graduate Prize in 2014. After graduation, he moved to Paris to work in Céline’s ready-to-wear atelier under Phoebe Philo before returning to New York to work at Derek Lam.
After three successful runway shows staged during NYFW and the recent introduction of menswear in 2022, Do sat out of the fall 2023 season in February, leading many to question the status of the label. In the beginning of May, however, Do unveiled his fall 2023 collection featuring 351 different looks made up of about two dozen pieces. Do called the absence from the fashion calendar a “good reset,” and he will continue to lead his brand in addition to his new role at Helmut Lang.
