Corporate News

Mercedes-Benz China Fashion Week

Words Monica James | November 08, 2017
Mercedes-Benz International Designer Exchange Program 2017
Words Monica James November 08, 2017

Mercedes-Benz is proud to announce that the acclaimed designer Peter Dundas with Evangelo Bousis will showcase his debut collection, from their newly launched label DUNDAS at Mercedes-Benz China Fashion Week in Beijing.

Mercedes-Benz Internationales Designer-Austauschprogramm (IDEP) 2017Mercedes-Benz Internationales Designer-Austauschprogramm (IDEP) 2017: Mercedes-Benz China Fashion Week präsentiert DUNDAS

Label DUNDAS auf der Mercedes-Benz China Fashion Week
Label DUNDAS at Mercedes-Benz China Fashion Week

Label DUNDAS auf der Mercedes-Benz China Fashion Week   Label DUNDAS at Mercedes-Benz China Fashion Week

Label DUNDAS auf der Mercedes-Benz China Fashion Week
Label DUNDAS at Mercedes-Benz China Fashion Week

Label DUNDAS auf der Mercedes-Benz China Fashion Week   Label DUNDAS at Mercedes-Benz China Fashion Week

Label DUNDAS auf der Mercedes-Benz China Fashion Week
Label DUNDAS at Mercedes-Benz China Fashion Week

Label DUNDAS auf der Mercedes-Benz China Fashion Week   Label DUNDAS at Mercedes-Benz China Fashion Week

Label DUNDAS auf der Mercedes-Benz China Fashion Week
Label DUNDAS at Mercedes-Benz China Fashion Week

As one of the most talented and trailblazing figures on the international fashion scene, Norwegian-born Peter Dundas will present his debut collection at Mercedes-Benz China Fashion Week, a move which further enhances the reputation and significance of China’s growing importance in the global fashion industry and the fashion platform itself. Through the International Designer Exchange Program, Mercedes-Benz has cemented its commitment to nurturing emerging and established designers, by providing them with the unrivalled opportunity to access key international markets.

The inclusion of Peter Dundas at Mercedes-Benz China Fashion Week, with his undeniable fashion pedigree, is pivotal in the event’s continued growth and significance. The platform was established in 1997 and in partnership with Mercedes-Benz since 2011; the biannual showcase of contemporary Chinese design has evolved into an unmissable event on the international fashion calendar. Thanks to the luxury automobile manufacturer’s support and initiatives such as the International Designer Exchange Program, a spotlight is shone on the thriving fashion scene in China at what is a time of unprecedented global interest in the region.

After moving to the US with his family at the age of 14, Peter’s path into design began at Parsons a fashion, art and design school in New York before moving to Paris, where he became an assistant to Jean Paul Gaultier in 1992. Eight years later, he moved to Christian Lacroix where he remained for two years before arriving at Roberto Cavalli. That would prove the catalyst for a storied decade-long career at the helm of Emanuel Ungaro, Emilio Pucci and Roberto Cavalli. Having successfully revitalised these three iconic brands, earlier this year Peter, alongside his partner Evangelo Bousis, launched the much anticipated label DUNDAS. In his life as in his art, Peter does not do things by half measures – his collection made a grandstand debut on Beyoncé Knowles at the 2017 Grammy Awards, and then by Emily Ratajkowski at the Cannes Film Festival. It is testament to Peter’s flair and craftsmanship that his dresses have long been some of the most sought-after on the red carpet.

Dundas sketches prolifically, working in a very instinctive and intuitive manner, which bears itself out in the fluidity of his designs. Throughout his career, his aesthetic has pivoted around the trinity of freedom, sensuality and rebelliousness, giving his creations a playful yet inherently seductive femininity, adding emphasis to his dedication to a vision of the modern woman as someone with unfettered license for self-expression. The DUNDAS brand will carry these unmistakable hallmarks – embellishment, luxury, sensuality, and above all a celebration of women.

Never afraid to blaze his own trail, the DUNDAS label has been conceived around a non-seasonal structure; instead of offering up to four runway shows following fashion’s traditional seasonal structure, the DUNDAS collection will be released strategically and succinctly, in carefully-timed drops to coincide with the demands of clientele. Presenting this new format at Mercedes-Benz China Fashion Week speaks volumes about the rapidly changing ways that luxury fashion is now being consumed by an increasingly global audience. Avoiding the traditional Spring/Summer, Fall/Winter fashion axis, the collection can speak to a truly global consumer – it is modern, reflecting both the demands of the globalisation of the fashion industry, and the key importance of travel in the contemporary luxury lifestyle.

Uniqueness, individuality, made-to-measure elements, and the idea of a designer retailing direct to their clientele via online channels ideologically connects to this new business model for ready-to-wear. It is a modern proposition – about closeness between creativity and commerce, about freedom from restraints and about satisfying women’s needs. Certain items from the collection will be offered custom-made; others are high-end ready-to-wear.

The DUNDAS collection will partner with key retailers to offer capsule collections, as well as retailing direct online. The first partnership, with Moda Operandi, launched the debut DUNDAS collection in July this year. The collection is also available from The Webster (Miami), Bergdof Goodman (New York), Elyse Walker (Los Angeles), Matches (UK), AZEL (Russia) and Moda Boutique. Moda Operandi will also exclusively launch the accessibly-priced collection, created to complement the debut collection in early December for pre order.