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Peter Hidalgo was reportedly found dead at a homeless shelter on January 17 in Manhattan. The cause of the designer’s death is not yet been disclosed, as informed by publicist Marion Greenberg.
At the time of his death, Hidalgo was temporarily living in that shelter, with the hope of being entitled to a subsidized house, as communicated by his friend and former employer, Miguel Adrover.
His mother and a few siblings survive the fashion designer. The mystery behind his death turned into a hot topic.
How old was Peter Hidalgo?
Peter Hidalgo was 53 years of age when he passed away.
Early life
The designer was born into an artistic family, his father was a professional musician. Hidalgo's enthusiasm for illustration and fashion started in native Santo Domingo high school.
Highly-rated illustrator Antonio Lopez selected Hidalgo to pursue a special course at The Altos de Chavon School of Design, affiliated with Parsons School of Design. Hidalgo indulged himself in art and design talents when he was there. In 1987, he was felicitated as “Best Designer of the Year” from school.
Career and achievements
Peter’s success in fashion motivated him to go after styling, makeup, art direction and set design for television and theater production companies in the Dominican Republic. He even decorated the homes of some private clients.
Adrover first met Peter in 1994 at the club The Sound Factory. The former shared the memories that he had with the latter and said:
“Peter was in drag. He was this night creature. He was really famous for voguing in all of the houses [of ballroom]. He was dressing up and working in clubs as a dancer.”
Hidalgo began working as an in-house designer in New York, where he even designed the store windows in a West Village boutique.
Elucidating upon Hidalgo's West Village job, Adrover said:
“There were five people who worked there. They were outrageous club kids. He used to do these fantastic windows with the mannequins. Everybody used to walk by to see his windows, and everybody used to talk about them.”
Post 9/11, Peter Hidalgo began visiting Adrover’s downtown studio. Further, he started working with Adrover. Remembering Peter's early days, he said:
“I have a lot of illustrations by him of all the looks in the collections. He personalized the faces and the bodies of what the models were going to be”.
Speaking to WWD, Adrover said:
“I remember spending many, many nights drawing and drawing until late at night. He was a little unreliable sometimes. But he was really creative and he had a lot of energy. At that time, I had no money. I had this big studio on Chrystie Street. I had about five people living with me, sleeping under the tables and everything. Peter built this little room kind of like a bunker made out of wood. He used to live in the corner,”
Hidalgo and Adrover named their first collection as “Citizens of the World,” and the partners combined their men’s and women’s collections with “the Surreal Real World,” “the Americans,” and others. Adrover called him the "real fashion designer."
In 2006, Peter Hidalgo launched his label and debuted at New York Fashion Week with Rita Hayworth-inspired silhouettes modified with a new modern edge.
Hidalgo was a co-winner of the 2010 Fashion Group International’s “Rising Star” award for women’s wear. The designer has primarily worked with private clients, including Nicki Minaj. After that, he even gave up his studio.
FGI’s late leader Margaret Hayes, fashion writer Marylou Luther, fashion editor Rushka Bergman and retailer Linda Dresner were Hidalgo’s supporters.
The FGI laurels prompted Peter Hidalgo to produce a runway presentation in just two weeks. He prepared some ultra-refined minimalist designs that took inspiration from the concept of love.
Peter Hidalgo continued releasing his seasonal collections from 2013 onwards. During this time, he clothed many big names like Kanye West and Usher, who wore Hidalgo suits to the 2011 MTV Music Video Awards and the Grammy awards, respectively.
By 2014, he undertook primarily private and celebrity clients. One amongst them was Nicki Minaj, who wore a Hidalgo gown for the opening performance of the MTV European Music Awards.
In 2019, Peter Hidalgo partnered with the artist David Salle for “The Collaboratory” project of AS IF magazine, where they designed cocktail dresses screen-printed with Salle’s art. Actress Scarlett Johansson was the model for the dresses on three different covers.
The Adrover and Hidalgo-designed Burberry raincoat was featured in a Costume Institute exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Hidalgo recorded numerous achievements to his name, he might have gained more in life. Although he is no more, his contributions to the fashion industry are perpetual.
