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september 2023

THE LIFE AND STYLE OF PETER JOHN





The former soldier turned fashion designer makes dedication and rigour look immeasurably cool.


Chatting to Peter John (Pete) about his attitude towards lifestyle at ‘The Friends Café in Old Street - just a few doors down from his apartment, and a few more from his studio - inspired me. A substantial military career, and a vocation change to fashion design in his 30s, have given him a unique outlook on life, and sharing food is an integral element.


 If you were to follow the Derby born creatives Instagram, you’d see that he and his friends host dinner together near daily, pasted quasi-candidly across their accounts; happenings lit aesthetically chiaroscuro style in the way only a group of like-minded artists and designers could. Steak Tatar and croutons paired with garlic butter bathed roasted asparagus and broccoli is a common sight, as are Mediterranean pasta dishes, though Pete tries to limit his carbs nowadays.


What precedes food is either running or hardy strength training sessions. Pete is a core member of a fitness brotherhood and brand, UVU training club, for which he has been deemed a “muse” according to CBO Jonny Wilson in a recent interview. “Track-O-Tuesdays” was a tongue-in-cheek take on Taco-Tuesdays for one of his hosting nights he tells me. As the name suggests, he and his compadres would train at their local track before sitting down together to break bread, or Tacos. Sometimes his guests will consist of just two friends, and other times more than ten, “when you’ve got eleven people turning up it gets pretty expensive”, he laughs in remembrance.  


It was clear that the food wasn’t the primary driver for these dinners. The 37-year-old spent sixteen years in the parachute regiment, one of Britain’s most elite fighting forces. When I asked him if he thought this was why he hosted so often, he paused “I hadn’t thought about that. You’re spending all day with your mates, and then eating together”. Covid 19 also had a part to play, when restaurants were closed Pete and his closest friends missed the experience of dining out, so they began dining in. His dinner parties now are a continuation of routines established during lock-down. 


The designers career change is a recent one, with his namesake label Studio Peter John launching just this year, supported by his social circle of fellow designers Cole Buxton, Jonny Wilson and jeweler Henry Goodfellow. 


“Good friends make a good dinner party” Pete tells me. Marco Pierre White once said, “The most important aspect of any restaurant is the environment you sit in”, which feels particularly applicable here. Our Lifestyles aren’t just about what we do, or how what we’re doing looks, but about who we surround ourselves with. Sharing food with the people we love, crafting your environment with good friends, and doing so often seems to me to be a great lifestyle. 

 “I was talking to Henry, and I said we don’t host that much, do we? And he said... well yeah, we do”.  








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