Peter Dundas would’ve fit right in in the ’70s, partying in Marrakech with Talitha Getty, touring with the Rolling Stones, befriending Debbie Harry. Of course, in the ’70s he was just a kid growing up “in a forest in Norway,” so his ideas about the decade as a golden age of stylish rebellion and bohemian glamour come from music, movies, and books. “Recently I rediscovered a book about the illustrator Antonio Lopez, called Antonio’s Girls,” he explained. “It was about his muses: Pat Cleveland, Jerry Hall, Grace Jones. But I have my girls too; they’re my ‘Peter’s Girls’! Giovanna [Battaglia], Poppy [Delevingne], Eugenie [Niarchos], Bianca [Brandolini]. They’re all glorious and they enjoy life; I wanted to celebrate them.”
This hyper-glam posse of globe-trotting beauties are the constant inspiration behind Dundas’s work, together with supernovas like Beyoncé, Kim Kardashian West, Katy Perry, and Lady Gaga. Come April, they’ll all be ready for Coachella, in billowy tiered dresses cut from cheerful lamé fil coupé or suede Perfecto jackets hand-painted with Art Nouveau–inspired poppies and paired with matching shorts—artfully mud-splattered Wellington boots optional.
“My fashion embraces a guilt-free attitude and a happy disposition,” Dundas said. “It’s for women who celebrate the power of their femininity and sensuality, who are generous with their energy; they’re not afraid of being seen, spreading good vibes around them.” When you look like a goddess swathed in a tangerine chiffon flecked with gold, life smiles at you, for sure.
The collection is Dundas’s second since launching his eponymous brand, and it exudes the glamour that was on display at his first outing during the Paris couture shows last July. Yet a bohemian feel was more in evidence here. Gypsy dresses and caftans were graced with delightful prints of cherries, poppies, and camouflage motifs, enhanced by bright hues of turquoise, tangerine, purple, marigold. As always with the designer, tailoring was also part of the story. Speaking of which, the cherry on the cake was a body-con jumpsuit covered in glittering purple sequins that would’ve been perfect for the stage. “It was inspired by the one that Georgia May Jagger wore at the New Year’s party in Mustique last season,” Dundas said. “Her mum, Jerry Hall, who knows a thing or two about rock ’n’ roll —does she not?—gave it to her as a present. It was vintage Yves Saint Laurent.”
