In no way is John Elliott confused about what he wants, nor does he have any qualms about putting it out there. Backstage, as the Los Angeles designer pondered the meaning of his 10th collection and fifth at New York men’s week, he just came out and said it: “I want to be a major American sportswear brand.” He stressed the last word, punctuating it with the finality of an idea whose time has come.
Travel is typically the central theme of a John Elliott collection, be that a trip to Japan for kimono research or running a marathon through Southeast Asia. But that would not be the case here, unless you count traveling on a basketball court. Rather, he reached back to his impressionable youth, when he played tournament basketball in school. “At first I’d be so nervous,” he said in mock geek tone, “about seeing the kids from the other schools and what they were wearing.” Meaning, would their athletic gear be cooler than his? “But then I’d get to know them and we’d end up trading sneakers and sweatshirts, even our jerseys.”
That became the basis for Fall, with its runway made to look like a court and a live marching band that opened the show. Which is to say: a dribble of hoop references and a dash of formal tailoring, much of it tradable or changeable in some way. What looked like a simple reversible sweatshirt upon first impression revealed detachable sleeves, making eight the number of ways it could be worn. Slim suit jackets seemed to morph into ribbed track tops or biker jackets into nylon parkas. You weren’t sure if several faded denim jackets were coming or going, and a side seam on blue jeans was placed in back—just because.
Most curiously, a knit draped over models like towels over players displayed a distorted rug motif. It had to do with a strategy in the game called stretch the floor, whereby a player attempts to gain as much floor space as possible to make his shot, or stretch his throw . . . rug. Get it? Well, maybe the word play was more of an air ball than a dunk shot. Still, the show as a whole was a solid effort, another sure step on the road to major sportswear brand-ness.
