Peter Dundas shot his eponymous collection in a Financial District penthouse that boasts the highest private terrace in New York City. Clearly, Jessica Stam, who jetted in from her Hawaiian home for the look book shoot, doesn’t suffer from acrophobia; she’s 82 floors up in these photos, with Manhattan looking like a model miniature spread out behind her. Dundas designs for highfliers, but this collection leans even more extroverted than usual with its emphasis on cutouts and catsuits.
The designer said he had Serge Gainsbourg’s 1978 hit, “Sea, Sex and Sun,” on repeat when he was working on the clothes. “When I’m in a good place I think about it,” he explained. Hans Feurer’s 1980s fashion photographs of models posing beachside in bathing suits were another reference point. Scuba tight and electric bright, his color-blocked stretch knit minidresses and separates for spring are reminiscent of Body Glove, a popular label of that era. Other body-con looks emphasize the lacing that is his own brand signature.
Dundas is a mean tailor. Though that’s not what he’s focused on this season, the two suits pictured here show his range, one being oversized, masculine, and boxy (and worn over a bodysuit, natch), and the other more fitted with a corset-back jacket. They’re cut in sunny citrus hues, “colors that are therapeutic for me,” he said. “It’s like candy, putting them together.”
