Peter Do’s PD-168 Genderless Label Opens First New York Pop-Up

Peter Do is opening the doors to his first brick-and-mortar pop-up shop for his new unisex, modular label PD-168.

Located at 500 West 22nd Street in New York, the store will allow for Do’s community and customers to shop his debut uniform-esque, machine washable PD-168 collection, which launched exclusively via its own e-commerce in September. With a VIP preview on Friday and public opening Saturday, the pop-up will be open this weekend and next from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

“This has been in the works for two years now,” the Vietnamese-American designer told WWD of his secondary brand, designed to offer the ease, universality and look of an elevated, interchangeable and machine-washable uniform for the everyday — nodding to the 168 hours in a week with its name.

The shop will feature his inaugural collection’s 24 pieces that come in all black, which are accented with a singular white line that runs down each garments’ side — a nod to Do’s own arm tattoo, and come in three black fabrications: liquid satin, soft rib and washed terry organic cotton. 

“The brand, Peter Do, has grown so much. I wanted to separate Peter Do the person from Peter Do the brand. What I was wearing was not so different from the main line, but it was different, because it doesn’t demand seasonal changes. It’s not trying to be a new silhouette every season, or a new storyline. There is a space for that to exist as a uniform subdivision that is its own thing,” Do said, noting the line serves as a personal nod to his own work uniform. “It’s meant to cater for a very specific purpose of uniform dressing, whatever that means for all walks of life, from the creative industry to athletes to corporations, airlines and restaurants. The goal is to eventually have different dialogues with different institutions, companies or agencies that need a uniform that’s a little bit more special but still functional.”

His debut collection spans from athletic drawstring pants and shorts, sweatshirts and T-shirts to an asymmetric pleated skirt, tailored blazers and leather footwear, including boots and a lace-up loafer. PD-168’s prices range from $110 for racer-back tanks up to $850 for his boots and liquid satin padded jacket and tailored coat, with genderless sizes ranging from XS to XL, with some styles going up to XXL.

“I’m really happy that we can offer something that signifies something so much bigger than just the product itself. It’s not an entry level [price], but something that you can buy into, build upon, layer and come into the brand. But also, if you love the brand, I hope it’s something you can wear every day versus saving $3,000 to $4,000 to buy a blazer to wear once from the main line. You could wear this, wash it and find new ways to wear it every day. I’m excited to see a new everyday aspect of the brand that I haven’t been able to do before,” he said.

Friday’s VIP night will be open to his password-locked community platform for limited production and made-to-order designs, PD Club. Throughout the preview and public opening, customers will be able to shop the entire collection, with all products in stock, Do noted.

“When you enter, you’ll see installations of 10 different hanging mannequins that will be in the front so customers can see how the pieces will be styled out, whether it’s from day to night, or night to day. You can see different scenarios where the codes can exist, whether it’s a gym or the office — multiple ways to start the collections. It will show the endless combinations of the pieces that we offer,” he said of the installation.

“The collection doesn’t go on sale and isn’t available wholesale, so there’s no fear of waiting for sales or missing out. We encourage people to try it on, find the right size, buy what they need and build upon it. The strategy is not, “If you don’t buy today, it’ll be gone” or fear-buy something. It’s very intentional — if you buy into it, it’s meant to last you for a long time,” Do said, adding that he hopes the main takeaway from consumers is their enjoyment of becoming familiar with the brand, trying on and hopefully purchasing pieces, without the pressure.

“Our customers and the community have been supporting us for so long. I’m excited to meet people and introduce them to a new aspect of the brand. I’ve been into getting back to a more intimate way to design and sell clothes, and communicate with the customer. I’m ready for direct feedback,” he explained. “It’s a nice, intimate way to meet the community. I’m always so grateful that people actually took their time to show up, meet the team and try things on. I always want to tell people that there’s no pressure to buy anything — you can come in and try things on. That’s OK too. We want to be very welcoming and not pushy or not forcing people to make a purchase. We’re so confident that if a customer loves it, they’ll come back.” 

In addition to the main shopping floor, the pop-up also features custom floral embroidery services and a secondary, lower floor with dressing room and private “Peter Do Club,” he said, complete with tailoring services on site with same-day services based on availability for PD-168 pieces bought in-store. For pieces that cannot be tailored same-day, customers can pick up at a later date or have their styles shipped.

In the future, Do said he’ll add new styles that play into the evergreen, seasonless brand’s modular approach to uniform, lifestyle essentials, such as a rain coat, or perhaps a ski jacket. “The possibility is sort of endless,” he said of the potential of peppering in color, adding in collaborations or opening additional global pop-up shops in the coming years.

Do said while his namesake luxury brand continues to grow, PD-168 has allowed the designer to be even more free with his main line.

“I like a system, and am the biggest outfit repeater. For me, PD-168 satisfied the itch that I’ve been trying to make for so long,” he said, noting his new brand was modeled after his own daily uniform. “We’ll come back to market [with Peter Do] hopefully in January, to show select things that we’ve been developing this year. I’m excited to show people the new direction that we’re going that’s deeply focused on craft, and pieces that are true to the brand but an evolution to the next stage of the business.”