John Elliott Spring Sumer 2024
Immersing himself in the aftermath of the Silicon Valley Bank’s downfall and the escalating chasm of affluence in the United States, John Elliott’s latest spring collection, titled “Fading Prospects,” plunges headlong into these narratives. The designer, rooted in Los Angeles, elegantly expounds, “The credibility of the American dream as an achievable reality for my generation and those that ensue is rapidly unraveling.”
Elliott’s assemblage casts off the preppy ensembles that once epitomized aspirational menswear during the ’90s, now relegated to irrelevance. He elaborates, “This entire collection marks a deliberate departure from the preppy archetype. It’s akin to abandoning preppy fashion in the rear bed of an L.A. pickup truck.”
The jeans and tracksuits radiate a gracefully weathered texture, while collegiate sweatshirts and nylon windbreakers don an artful sun-faded allure. An ash-gray cardigan embellished with varsity stripes undergoes a metamorphosis, inverted and intentionally weathered to evoke a touch of controlled dilapidation. Additionally, a leather suit jacket boasts a well-earned patina reminiscent of a Chesterfield sofa that has gracefully witnessed its passage through time. Elliott artfully indulges in trompe-l’oeil effects, etching cable patterns onto knits and adorning a rugby shirt with sun-bleached pastel stripes that converge with a frayed hem.
Reflecting on his stylistic methodology, Elliott offers, “The quest for novelty steers people’s preferences. Taking something as venerated as preppy fashion and immersing it in thorough experimentation, washing, and conscious distressing—within that lies an inherent novelty.”
The concept of “dirty luxury” appears to have found its juncture, perhaps representing the logical evolution of the understated opulence trend. John Elliott.
