Peter Saville is immersed in contemporary culture at the point where fashion, music, art and graphic design converge. Born in Manchester, England in 1955, he studied graphic design at Manchester Polytechnic from 1975 – 1978. In 1979, he became a founding partner of the independent record label Factory Records, where he created some of the most iconic album covers of all time for Joy Divison and New Order. In 2000 Saville founded SHOWstudio with long-time collaborator Nick Knight and in 2004, he was appointed Creative Director for Manchester, to communicate the city of Manchester's unique brand strategy, a post he still holds.
Saville’s enviable list of clients have included Roxy Music, Ultravox, Peter Gabriel, Pulp, Suede, Whitechapel Art Gallery, The Pompidou Centre, Yohji Yamamoto, JiIl Sander, Christian Dior, Alexander McQueen, Stella McCartney, Mandarina Duck, Givenchy, Selfridges EMI and Adidas. Working extensively in fashion and the cultural sector, his work is credited with significantly influencing the interplay between art and design.
Saville has exhibited internationally and his solo exhibitions include ‘Designed by Peter Saville,’ the Design Museum, London 2003, which subsequently travelled to Tokyo and Manchester, ‘Estate,’ the Migros Museum fur Genewartsknust, Zurich 2005, and ‘Anna + Peter – Swing Project 1’ at the FRAC Champagne-Ardenne, Reims 2011. Saville’s work was also included in both ‘Postmodernism: Style and Subversion 1970 – 1990’ and ‘British Design 1948 – 2012’ at the Victoria & Albert Museum, London 2011 and 2012, respectively.