Recently, when I was chatting in a group and said, “Banana Republic is actually pretty good,” everyone was surprised. Indeed, this statement may not be consistent with most people’s first instinct, but in fact, this long-standing mall brand has been undergoing a major transformation in the past year. If you think back carefully, you will also find that Banana Republic has been unabashedly returning to its roots, reviewing works in its archives. Not long ago, the brand announced the arrival of a new era – laying the foundation for its “popular quiet luxury” brand positioning through a new joint series: Peter Do x Banana Republic.
The name Peter Do may be well known to everyone. He is characterized by luxury and high-quality namesake brands and clothing. Practicality has always been the keyword of his design philosophy. In addition, the Vietnamese designer is also the new creative director of Helmut Lang and presented his first collection for the brand at New York Fashion Week in September this year. It sounds like he has a heavy burden on his shoulders, but even so, he still finds time to create new clothes for Banana Republic customers.
Joint series: Peter Do x Banana Republic makes good things more popular
“Like any collaboration, I was a little hesitant at first. We don’t do many collaborations, and this is our first big one,” Do said. “I remember going to the mall with my mom, and we couldn’t really afford Banana Republic stuff, but I always wanted PD’s work to reach a wider audience and offer our pieces at a more affordable, democratic price. So we really reached a consensus on this.” Making the finer things in life more affordable may be the main motivation for this collaboration.
Seamlessly integrating the design into the two brands is the beginning of the co-branding
How does a designer known for his cool, modern interpretations of timeless silhouettes create a collection for a brand rooted in risk-taking, adventure? Do draws inspiration from the brand’s past, but not in the same way that Banana immerses itself in its own history. He looked through catalogs and archives and found that the main foundation of the brand was a world of individual items. Of course, he injected Peter Do’s style into every design and look. The result? That his collections fit seamlessly into both brands was also confirmed as Do chose to debut his Peter Do x Banana Republic designs during the Spring/Summer 2024 presentation at Paris Fashion Week.
For Do, the main focus of the collaboration is to create clothing with variety and versatility, saying he doesn’t typically think of clothing as occasion-specific wear. This focus on versatility also explains why he chose to create gender-neutral sizing for each piece. “I want people to have the freedom to wear what they want,” he said, adding that this level of freedom in clothing is reflected in American fashion today, which he defines as “based on reality, with a functional feel.” .
Joint series should generate new value
Functionality feels like one of the core values of Do’s design, and of course the designs of the Banana Republic co-branded series are no exception. He explained that when trying on clothes, many of the ideas that led to the design actually came from one question: “This dress How can it be worn differently?” “We hope this trend is addressed, or we hope something can be turned into a crop top that can be shared by multiple people; maybe the sleeves can be removed so you can wear it in multiple seasons It.” With everything added to this joint series, the designer feels quite confident about the brand’s new journey.
Speaking about his latest project, Do considers his own journey as a designer over the past few months and sees the coherent thread that binds them together. “The common thread is to give people a solution so they can express themselves; something that helps when wearing it on a daily basis.” At this point, I asked him if there was one piece in the collection that served as the highlight of this system Favorite, he said simply: “I like them all.”
