LFW Preview: Peter Pilotto

Within a handful of seasons, Peter Pilotto and Christopher de Vos have elevated their label from Peter who? into one of the must-see shows of London Fashion Week.

By ELLE UK and NonePublished: 06 September 2011

<p>Peter Pilotto and Christopher de Vos</p>

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Cultural omnivores in possession of a clever way with draped silks, the designers can blend references to Belgian kinetic artists and heavy metals into the same seamless print.

Precision of technique and accomplishment in the digital-print realm hasn't stood in the way of innovationPilotto and de Vos sidestepped their signature technique once imitation rendered it ubiquitous, and the draped, silken, screen-printed separates that replaced so many digitally dappled dresses earned them an entirely new sector of fans... fans including two first ladies (Samantha Cameron and Michelle Obama), a clutch of actresses (Carey Mulligan, Freida Pinto, Kristen Stewart) and a sizeable chunk of the ELLE masthead, too.

Ten days before fashion week, theres still much to do. Pilotto took a few moments out of the task of the day (sending garments to India for hand-beading) to speak with ELLE about rivalries, shunning sleep during LFW, and why hes not looking to replace John Galliano at the top of Christian Dior.

See you at the shows...

Hi Peter. Thanks for taking the time to talk to us during such a busy week. To start, how would you describe your aesthetic? What do you find beautiful?

We are very much visual thinkers, and we love to express what we love in our collections. Theres a lot of quite contradictory things that we bring together within what we like. Rather than being restricted to one silhouette, we like to have several, and print-wise and colour-wise we like to have diversity.