Fashion designer Peter Hidalgo found dead at a homeless shelter aged 53

Fashion designer Peter Hidalgo has died, aged 53.

The fashionista – who dressed a whole host of stars including Kanye West, Nicki Minaj and Usher – was found dead at the homeless shelter was living in.

Marion Greenberg, his publicist confirmed the news of his passing on 17 January but did not specify a cause of death.

Peter’s former boss Miguel Adrover revealed he knew “he was not feeling well” but found it hard to keep in contact with him.

He told WWD: “I know he was not feeling well. It was really hard to get in touch with him.”

The 56-year-old designer admitted to being “devastated” about Peter’s death and explained he was trying to convince him to seek refuge in his hometown in the Dominican Republic.

Miguel said: “I would tell him all the time, ‘Peter, love, you should move back to Santo Domingo, because you have your family.’

“Also, you know how New York is. If you don’t have money, it is really a hard city to survive. He was not young either. I was devastated.”

In 2010, Peter was the joint winner of the Fashion Group International’s ‘Rising Star’ Award.

Notable outfits he designed included Usher’s suit to the 2011 MTV Video Music Awards and Nicki Minaj’s outfit for her performance at the 2014 European Music Awards. In addition, he often styled Kanye West.

In 2019, Peter worked with artist David La Salle and AS IF magazine to create a line of cocktail dresses with La Salle’s art printed on them, three of which were modelled in the magazine by Scarlett Johansson.

The AS IF’s editor-in-chief, Tatijana Shoan praised his “abundant talent” and his personality.

She said: ”I will always treasure Peter’s commitment to excellence, his excellent taste, his unmatched loyalty, kindness, laugh, the sparkle in his eyes and his abundant talent.”

A memorial is being planned to take place in the Spring and he is survived by his mother and siblings, whose identities have not been made public.