Peter Pilotto

In his words his vision of his clothes “embraces both new and classic perspectives on elegance”.  Ideally his client is “beyond the classification of age and style” this would match the clothes themselves.

His origins, half Italian and half Austrian and studying at Antwerp Academy of the Fine Arts in 2000. Between him and his design partner Christopher De Vos, they are the brains behind the Peter Pilotto label, who were shortlisted for the BFC/Vogue Designer Fund in 2012. 

This marked the tenth London catwalk show for the design duo, supported by Topshop. For their Spring Summer 2012 Collection they were awarded Fashion Forward sponsorship, supported by the British Fashion Council and Coutts.

In December 2009 PETER PILOTTO was awarded the best emerging talent award at the British Fashion Awards.

The relationship between Pilotto and De Vos works very well. While Pilotto focuses on the print and textiles, De Vos focuses on the silhouette and drape. The duo prefer to reinforce the idea of the curiosity cabinet, which is something that holds stimulus for the duo. The curiosity cabinet is a metaphor for journey, their cultural mix and a collection of recurring things,such as natural phenomena. They are particularly fascinated with a scientific view of nature and is a constant source of inspiration.

 Despite separate design aspects their ideas come together in a well respected collaboration which is sold in 42 countries, sold in  over 200 directional retailers including; Colette in Paris; Harvey Nichols and Dover Street Market in London; Bergdorf Goodman, Saks Fith Avenue in New York, Joyce in Hong Kong and China and seen on an array of celebrities from Rihanna to Kate Bosworth.  

 

 

Here are snippets from their S/S '13 collection.

Fashion bloggers Type and Talk blogged :

"Prints, beading, embellishment, bright colours and pyjama pants…. Just buy the whole damn collection!

Gotta say Pilotto’s offering is right up my street…. minus the peplums. Gotta love the sunshine pops of yellow and the heavy beading details on the a line dresses. As much as I hate peplums I was kind of digging the peplum sleeves, although I’d never wear them.

They look rather cool with the vibrant print. A proper stand out item. Some of the mirrored didtal prints did remind me of Katrantzou, but a tamed version which you could actually picture yourself wearing it!

Even in the darker coloured items it still stands out as a high summer wardrobe due to the way the prints are blended together."

There seems to be a worldwide love for Peter Pilotto and its colourful and vibrant designs, but is it getting repetitive? Miss Penny Dreadful seems to think so 

"Don't get me wrong about Peter Pilotto. I love their work but I am starting to feel as if I am looking at the same collection -tweaked - every year. I don't really know if it is print fatigue as most designers are showing simple designs and print less clothing - there seems something very fussy about this. I just wish I could see something totally different from them. "

While vogue.com reviews that Peter Pilotto's  "patterns undergo some kind of alchemical reaction with a woman’s body, through being worked into increasingly imaginative silhouettes; the total effect—not just a litany of print motifs—creates the impact of what Peter Pilotto does."

 Snippets from their Resort 2013 collection:

Style.com reviews:

"This season's came in two main groups—both of which were smart departures from Fall, which was faulted somewhat for being too similar to their previous collection. The first was quite geometric. Printed as it sometimes was on silk cloque, the results looked almost quilted. The second motif was inspired by research they did on centuries-old illuminated manuscripts in London's Royal Library; these were more evocative of stained glass. Both prints produced some fabulous dresses, and the designers continue to forge ahead into other categories like macintosh jackets and full-legged pants. But some of the collection's most captivating pieces weren't made from prints at all. Instead, they gave a high-tech oversize mesh fabric the couture treatment with crystals and sequins. Really special and really smart. "

There is definitely a recurring motif in Peter Pilotto designs, bright and vibrant prints stand out over well cut simplistic but effective silhouette. Their clothes make it into the big name magazines in the most vibrant and interesting spreads, most recently Hapaar's Bazaar and Instyle magaxine. 

 

 

Wherever it is shown, on the catwalk, in the magazines, on the street, Peter Pilotto designs definitely stands out and creates and new fresh young look. To the comments that say its repetitive, there is a small point of repetition, but every season, Peter Pilotto brings out a new motif in their well-known and established design style.