Peter Do Launches New Label

Nearly a year after leaving his creative director post at Helmut Lang, Peter Do is on to his next venture.

On Wednesday, the New York-based designer launched the website for PD-168, an offshoot of his namesake label that’s been in the works for two years. The inaugural collection — which includes asymmetrical skirts, bomber jackets and peak-lapeled blazers in all black with a signature white line running down the sides — is a high-fashion take on a work uniform. The 168 in the label’s name refers to the number of hours in a week, “a cheeky play on something that you wear every day, every hour, every minute,” Do said in an interview with The Business of Fashion.

PD-168 is essentially a more affordable version of Do’s eight-year-old independent luxury label known for its deconstructed tailoring and iconoclastic approach to workwear — a PD-168 blazer costs $600 versus a $1,200 one from Peter Do. But Do insists PD-168 is not a diffusion line where the brand takes “pieces from PD” and makes “a less-than version of it.”

Where diffusion lines typically mirror a main line — including silhouettes, fabrications and release models — PD-168’s assortment will only come in three materials (liquid satin, a soft rib tencel knit and terry cotton) in black, which aren’t offered at the Peter Do label. The same pieces will be offered each season (with a few additions introduced at least once a year) and no items will go on sale, Do said. The project, a self-funded venture, is also more personal than Do’s namesake label, he added. The line is based on Do’s actual work uniform, a contrast from the aspirational and avant garde silhouettes featured in his main line. The white stripe that goes down the side of every PD-168 garment is inspired by a tattoo on Do’s left arm.

“I want to get back into creating, and have a space where it feels like everything is very true to myself and everything is what I love and would wear 100 percent,” Do said. “I designed PD-168 for myself, a uniform that I would wear everyday.”

But PD-168’s contemporary luxury price point will likely attract a wider group than the Peter Do label. Its launch campaign, too, showcases a wide group of creatives, including chef Thach Ta, makeup artist Ruan Dang and DJ Levi Doan, photographed in the collection on the streets of Saigon, near Do’s hometown. There’s also a video campaign featuring contemporary dancers sporting the garments while performing a routine at the Brooklyn Museum and a partnership with luxury consultancy Office of Applied Strategy, where the consultancy’s staffers and collaborators will wear head-to-toe pieces for conferences and other work-related public appearances.

“I always feel the happiest when the clothes are worn and loved and lived in,” Do said. “It’s not about aspirations.”

To keep control over PD-168’s pricing and product offering, the line will only be available on the PD-168 website. If the brand were to venture into multi-brand retail, it would be through a concession model, where the label controls key elements such as pricing and merchandising, Do said.

It’s the latest step Do is taking to make his business less reliant on wholesale. While the Peter Do label is stocked at multi-brand retailers like Bergdorf Goodman, Ssense and Shopbop, in the past year the brand has shifted from seasonal collections to a drop model where items are made to order and delivered directly to customers in six to eight weeks. It’s an increasingly common strategy for emerging brands as more multi-brand retailers flounder: just this year, Saks has reportedly struggled to pay vendors, while Ssense and Luisaviaroma recently filed for bankruptcy protection.

Do declined to share any revenue projections for PD-168, but is hopeful for its potential. At Peter Do pop-up shops in Toronto and New York earlier this year, the company offered a small assortment of PD-168; the new line accounted for around 50 percent of sales and styles like its $850 tailored trench coat — inspired by a traditional Vietnamese Ao Dai, or “long shirt” — became fast bestsellers. A pop-up dedicated entirely to PD-168 will open in the indie boutique Komune in New York’s Lower East Side neighborhood in November, and another in Japan is slated for next year, he added.

“I want 168 to be something long term, and we wanted to focus and make sure that it’s right first before we can talk about it,” Do said. “I have more confidence that it works because we already sold out most of the stocks that we ordered through the pop-up.”