Like death or taxes, the evolution from skate boy to suit man seems almost inevitable—at least if the American menswear designers showing in Paris this season are to be believed. As menswear springs back from its comfort-centric pandemic years, brands that thrived selling loose, effortless clothes are grappling with how to evolve. John Elliott took his show to Paris for the first time in a long time, explaining over Zoom that “you take showing in Paris with a level of focus and respect.”
“I’m an optimist,” he continued, and “I’m hoping the future is much brighter—that’s why I want to take a leap of faith.” Leap of Faith is the title he gave a collection in which he pushed into boyish rethinks of American classics: varsity jackets, moto jackets, slender suiting, cable knits, and short, striped neckties. Presented on the Pompidou’s fifth floor corridor to a soundtrack of ’90s music provided by Acyde Odunlami and Nosaj Thing, the clothes projected high school Americana through a more adult lens. Elliott said he wanted it to evoke both the anticipation of the first day of school and the freedom of the last day of school—the thrill of starting something and the elation of breaking free.
His suiting proportions are minimal, abbreviated, and charmingly dorky, suggesting gawky teenage years of earnestness and obviousness. Leather jackets and knitwear have a more streamlined ’50s look—an idea resonating since Prada in Milan. Lots of good basics and some very covetable pairs of hand-distressed leather pants were in the mix; and here’s hoping his American customers are brave enough to try out those airy sheer cable knits.
It all came together swell—except for maybe the flimsy womenswear pieces. The duality of clean-cut all-American boy and semi-nude, hot girl feels like a gendered divide that society should leave in the past. That’s an optimistic read of the future, and the leap of faith Elliott should take before his next Paris show.
