For the record, “Peter Pilotto” is not one designer — it’s two.
In a spacious Midtown showroom, Pilotto, 36, a dark-haired half-Austrian, half-Italian who started the namesake label in 2006, is joined by Christopher De Vos, 33, a fair-haired half-Belgian, half-Peruvian who hopped on board a year later.
The London-based design duo met in 2000 while studying at Antwerp’s Royal Academy of Fine Art, a renowned incubator of the avant-garde boasting Vincent van Gogh, Martin Margiela and all Antwerp Six as alumni. But the designers affect no high-flown sensibilities, and they speak earnestly about their partnership and process.
“It’s like a constant dialogue. We constantly give each other feedback,” De Vos says. “Every collection is a journey through the season.”
“It’s important for us to discover things together,” says Pilotto, who — along with De Vos — engineers prints on a computer.
“The production is very complicated,” Pilotto says about his cutting-edge designs, which are produced using a computer program that creates a “digital kaleidoscope.”
Fashion insiders and famous faces alike swoon over the fresh, bold results — innovative prints and collections inspired by Byzantine churches and ancient Roman warriors.
Though Pilotto and De Vos have already snagged numerous industry accolades, it’s the attention from high-profile enthusiasts that launched the team to great, new heights.
From Kerry Washington to Emma Watson, Miranda Kerr to Kristen Stewart, Rooney Mara to Michelle Obama, there’s a broad range of style stars fawning over the brand’s bold prints and flattering silhouettes — a fact that delights but doesn’t drive the designers.
“We don’t really think so much about it,” admits Pilotto. “It’s really all about the excitement of the clothes themselves that fascinates us the most.”
De Vos agrees, adding that while celebrities are important, the real thrill comes when they see people experiment with their designs. “It’s so nice to see that people wear them in their own way, and that’s interesting.”
For now, the duo is focused on a highly-anticipated Target capsule (in stores Feb. 5), and their next mainline collection, scheduled to show this month at London Fashion Week.
“The prints are always about layering of different elements,” De Vos explains of those trademark patterns, sure to make an appearance for fall. “We love playing with the computer,” he adds.
Designers of our generation, indeed.