There have been a string of new creative director announcements in the last year. Pharrell took the top job at Louis Vuitton, Sabato de Sarno replaced Alessandro Michele at Gucci, Ludovic de Saint Sernin is the first leader at Ann Demeulemeester since the Belgian founder's own reign, meanwhile we finally learned the reason for Daniel Lee's abrupt exit of Bottega Veneta, was so he could captain the ship at Burberry. Well, add this to the pile; Peter Do is the new creative director of Helmut Lang. Although unexpected, we can't help but feel this is the most natural pairing yet.
Broadcast over Instagram this morning, both Helmut Lang and Peter Do shared the news with a portrait of Do taken by Mario Sorrenti. Speaking on his new appointment, Do wrote, "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 [sic] love most regain its stature as the center of gravity for everyone who cares about radical thinking in fashion," he explained. "During the most formative days of my own fashion education, no one embodied this spirit more definitively than Helmut Lang."
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"As such, it is my deep honor to be entrusted with ushering in the next chapter of Helmut Lang's legacy," Do continued. "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."
Peter Do will begin his creative director role at the Austrian label, now owned by the Prada Group following an acquisition in 2005, on May 15 and will oversee both men’s and women’s collections. He will continue to juggle his own eponymous label on top of his new duties and will present his first collection for Helmut Lang during New York Fashion Week in September this year.
The designer was born in Biên Hòa, Vietnam and came into fashion after studying at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City, where he was awarded the inaugural 2014 LVMH Graduate Prize. His resume includes a stint at Phoebe Philo’s Céline, on top of time working alongside Derek Lam in New York. Well-wishers on social media have commented on how Do's stark tailoring, edgy sensibility and downtown appeal is complementary to the design language upheld at Helmut Lang. We cannot wait to see what his tenure brings.
