Think American fashion and almost certainly New York and L.A. come to mind. The apparel powerhouses are home to the two best-known garment districts in the country. But pull back the pleats and you’ll discover that North Carolina, a leader in the once-prominent Southern Textile Belt, continues to hold its own. And nowhere is its design prowess more evident than in the Raleigh-based luxury lifestyle brand Peter Millar.
Peter Millar is a classically styled global brand noted for being refined but not flashy, approachable yet authentic. Founded in Raleigh in 2001 with a single cashmere sweater, the operation—once mostly known for golf wear—changed hands in 2005 when former Ralph Lauren executive Scott Mahoney joined with the Sea Island Company to buy the brand. This transfer of power could easily have led to the relocation of Peter Millar’s headquarters to any number of emerging clothing manufacturing cities, but Mahoney, who now serves as chairman and CEO, saw more than a few advantages to staying in the South.
by RACHEL HAHN
video by MIKA ALTSKAN AND MATVEY FIKS
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“By being in the Southeast, especially in the North Carolina area, we have access to incredible talent,” Mahoney says. “You’ve got UNC Chapel Hill, Duke, and N.C. State, which has a great school of textiles.” Nearly three quarters of the Raleigh design team, in fact, come from the Wilson College of Textiles at North Carolina State University, a school that’s been operating since 1899 and today is the only college in North America dedicated to textiles.
This deep bench of expertise has grown from four to twenty designers in the years since Jason Cater, Peter Millar’s chief creative officer, arrived in 2015, and it has allowed the clothing brand to not only make a name for itself in the U.S. but stand out on the world’s stage.
In 2023 that looks like a material Cater’s taken to calling “unicorn fabric,” a highly flexible, breathable, wind-resistant, and water-resistant fabric that’s featured throughout the Flex Adapt garments in Peter Millar’s Crown Crafted line.
The focus on quality and innovation also extends to the brand’s lightweight Excursionist Flex sweaters, too. “We’re starting with this incredibly fine Merino wool that’s nearly at the level of luxury-classed cashmere,” he says. Using knowledge gleaned from years of crafting sportswear, the cashmere is knit together with PBT polyester, a strong fiber that can withstand stretch, to deliver an incredibly soft garment with exceptional shape retention.
Every piece is conceptualized, designed, and wear-tested in Raleigh. Similarly, every aspect of Peter Millar’s prototypes is pored over by the design team—to assess color, special washes, fit, and finishing details—at the Raleigh HQ. Love the brand’s prints? Those are dreamed up in Raleigh too, with more than 100 unique patterns created each season.
With a Southern aesthetic and global appeal, these styles epitomize what Peter Millar’s clients love about the brand, which Cater sums up: “It’s taking the best of the performance and the best of the luxury world and bringing that together.” In Raleigh and beyond.
For Cater it all comes down to one goal: “building the perfect recipe” of fit, feel, and function. “Going back and looking at how people dressed, there was a formality, even to sportswear,” Cater says. “We’re not trying to bring that back, but we are elevating sportswear and making it more versatile.” He believes in creating refined pieces that blend utility and style. That means giving subtle twists to performance styles and utilizing quieter, more understated color palettes, especially in the brand’s Crown Crafted line.
“Quality has to come first for us,” he says. This guiding principle has led Peter Millar’s Raleigh design team to forge partnerships with artisans worldwide. “Whether it’s cashmere from Tuscany, Pima cotton from Peru, the finest hides from Southern Italy, or performance fabrications from Asia, we want to utilize the best of the best,” he says.
The emerging Alys Beach Town Center continues to grow as construction begins on the Della condominiums. Designed by architects Moule & Polyzoides of Pasadena, California, the Della is largely Bermudian and Antiguan in character, also drawing on the romance of British and Venetian turn-of-the-century resorts. The Della will offer twenty total residences: four three-bedroom condominiums, five two-bedroom plus bunk condominiums, and eleven two-bedroom condominiums.
CONTACT
sales@alybeach.com
The Della Condominiums
Where Two
Traditions Meet
At Jackrabbit Filly, chef Shuai Wang celebrates his Chinese heritage by way of Southern ingredients—and a healthy dose of Duke’s mayo
Open to both residents and rental guests, the Caliza Pool is another gorgeous backdrop for a day in the sun. When visitors step through the gates, they are immediately transported to a luxe tropical paradise centered on a shimmering zero-entry saltwater pool. Skirting this one-hundred-foot focal point are shaded cabanas, a separate lap pool and family area, a rooftop terrace with Gulf views, and a poolside restaurant serving light bites such as seasonal salads and tacos with fresh-caught fish. Caliza is one of the community’s most impressive amenities, with accolades to prove it—in 2009, Khoury Vogt Architects won the prestigious Palladio Award for its design.
Wellness is part of the Alys Beach DNA, and nowhere is this more apparent than in the ZUMA Wellness Center, the town’s haven for movement and restoration. While ZUMA boasts a state-of-the-art gym, a vast indoor lap pool, tennis and basketball courts, and a robust schedule of yoga, TRX, strength, and other fitness classes, it’s also a retreat to be still and unwind. Two spa treatment rooms and a steam room offer unrivaled relaxation, especially when followed by a coffee or juice and a walk through ZUMA’s peaceful meditation garden. Meanwhile, on the outer edge of the community lies perhaps the most tranquil facet of all: twenty acres of preserved forest, accessed by a winding nature trail. Perfect for walking or biking, the path delivers an easy escape into nature and a quiet place to reflect.
While each home in Alys Beach is outfitted with a professional-grade kitchen, dining options abound when residents aren’t cooking at home. In the heart of town, Raw & Juicy is especially beloved for its laid-back breakfast and lunch options. With a menu of acai bowls, avocado toast, egg sandwiches, coffee, and smoothies, the cafe and its shaded patio are often bustling with neighbors on the go. Meanwhile, snagging a fresh-baked confection from Charlie's Donuts is an Alys Beach tradition—if you're lucky enough to arrive before they sell out. Parked in the heart of town, Charlie’s bright blue food truck has been making doughnuts for more than a decade, often to a crowd of eager—and early rising—patrons.
The emerging Alys Beach Town Center continues to grow as construction begins on the Della condominiums. Designed by architects Moule & Polyzoides of Pasadena, California, the Della is largely Bermudian and Antiguan in character, also drawing on the romance of British and Venetian turn-of-the-century resorts. The Della will offer twenty total residences: four three-bedroom condominiums, five two-bedroom plus bunk condominiums, and eleven two-bedroom condominiums.
CONTACT
sales@alybeach.com
The Della Condominiums
“It’s taking the best of the performance and the best of the luxury world and bringing that together.”
From Raleigh
to the World
How Peter Millar blended performance sportswear
and luxury lifestyle designs to create a new perspective on modern apparel
“By being in the Southeast, especially in the North Carolina area, we have access to incredible talent,” Mahoney says. “You’ve got UNC Chapel Hill, Duke, and N.C. State, which has a great school of textiles.” Nearly three quarters of the Raleigh design team, in fact, come from the Wilson College of Textiles at North Carolina State University, a school that’s been operating since 1899 and today is the only college in North America dedicated to textiles.
This deep bench of expertise has grown from four to twenty designers in the years since Jason Cater, Peter Millar’s chief creative officer, arrived in 2015, and it has allowed the clothing brand to not only make a name for itself in the U.S. but stand out on the world’s stage.
In 2023 that looks like a material Cater’s taken to calling “unicorn fabric,” a highly flexible, breathable, wind-resistant, and water-resistant fabric that’s featured throughout the Flex Adapt garments in Peter Millar’s Crown Crafted line.
The focus on quality and innovation also extends to the brand’s lightweight Excursionist Flex sweaters, too. “We’re starting with this incredibly fine Merino wool that’s nearly at the level of luxury-classed cashmere,” he says. Using knowledge gleaned from years of crafting sportswear, the cashmere is knit together with PBT polyester, a strong fiber that can withstand stretch, to deliver an incredibly soft garment with exceptional shape retention.
