Wow: banal with a twist—there's a collection summation that most designers would entirely lack the cojones to coin. But that was the essence of Jonny Johansson's languid précis of his references for the season. "It's about football [soccer], Harris Tweed, jogging—things men like," he said. "And being a bit banal about it."
Johansson's insurance is that this collection wasn't banal in the least, although it used the Anglo-masculine generic as a starting point. Shirt checks were blown up, a Barbour-style waxed jacket was oversize, soccer numbers were unaffiliated and turned into relief on patched knitwear. The soccer shirt—a poly-who-knows-what garment that is both foul and addictive—was used as the template (but twisted) for a mid-layer. There was lots of tinkering with old English staples: A covert coat was trimmed into a jacket, and a white fleece had panels of houndstooth. The models wore oversize Michael Caine specs, makeup, and a positive message: Scarves read "Gender equality," and a crewneck was patched with "Radical feminist."
Against this mixed mood board of manliness from the waist up was a heavy emphasis on leggings under layers beneath; the middle layer was shorts or detachable skirts pinned into jackets. Sometimes this silhouette (and that makeup) gave these looks a touch of the early Boy Georges—no bad thing.
