You know things are good when you throw a party to celebrate an award six months after the accolade was given—just because you are too busy working away. Such was the case with Peter Pilotto and Christopher De Vos of the label Peter Pilotto, who, along with John Demsey, group president of Estée Lauder Companies, hosted a fete to celebrate the designers’ January win of the 2014 BFC/Vogue Designer Fashion Fund—as well as their longstanding collaboration with MAC.
Held at Pilotto and De Vos’ new studio in East London on a rare sunny evening, the party attracted big names, many of whom were still hungover post-Serpentine gala. Amber Le Bon, Caroline Winberg, Tallulah Harlech, Elizabeth von Guttman, and Caroline Issa’s willingness to attend was a testament to the design duo’s pull.
The pair’s Target collaboration that launched in January (one of the rare high/low collaborations that was stocked by Net-a-Porter) was a triumph, with many pieces selling out within. Harlech in particular was fulsome in her praise. “Their detailed embroidery is pretty intense for me to look at—I once lingered in their archive, falling for all the pieces with incredible detail I’ve never seen up close.”
Naturally, winning the Fashion Fund honor has enabled Pilotto and De Vos to grow their brand. “Now we can make key hires and expand our team so we can carry on with our goal of reaching out to a wider global clientele. It has been an interesting road where we learned a lot along the way, so tonight’s dinner is our way of thanking a lot of people who have helped us get here,” offered De Vos. “After all, we came to London as outsiders, and the fashion community here really embraced us early on. We are humbled by the support,” Pilotto added.
Though the brand is best known for its vivacious prints, its journey to success, the designers admit, wasn’t always easy. “People can be very emotional when it comes to print: It can divide a lot of opinions,” said Pilotto. “But we always felt compelled to follow our instincts, and critically, look at shape and structure as much as fabric. We are as much engineers as we are print people.” So what’s next up for the duo? “Our team is five times bigger than when we started, so now we are in the thinking and planning stages to expand the collection to include swimwear and more accessories,” revealed De Vos. “It is a really exciting time for us right now.”
