We can always depend on John Elliott to bring us something we didn't know we needed. This week, JE + Co. is opening up a dedicated shop-in-shop with Roden Gray that will live within their Vancouver store. It's been a minute in the making, John says. "Last summer, we first started talking to Roden Gray owner Rob Lo and he saw an opportunity with our brand. They pretty much always sell out of our stuff, so it was really a win-win. It's the first opportunity for us to showcase the brand in a physical space and being able to translate our DNA into a portion of their store is reason enough to do it." And it isn't just a pop-up, but an extended stay. Roden Gray will get those online exclusive pieces and stay stocked with JE staples. You can see some behind-the-scenes photos of the space in the making, with final photos to come. Could it be a pre-cursor to an actual JE + Co. store? "There's this long-term goal of eventually achieving your own standalone retail store," John says. "I'm not going to act like that is not a day that I aspire to and this is a step in that direction."
In conjunction with the dedicated shop-in-shop, we're pleased to also let you guys in on a five-piece collection of brand new JE gear. We aren't talking about new colors or fabrics either, but all new pieces. John put his signature spin on a few joints that show the growth the brand has taken on lately. Two new terry pieces enter the rotation in the "Baseline" hoodie and sweatpants that offer a different take than the Villain or Escobars we're well acquainted with by now. The hoodie comes with a concealed side-slit kangaroo pocket sans side-zips and the sweats have a small pleated patch behind the knee that bring to mind a sort of reverse moto detail, which John says he's wanted to do for a while. "I've been fooling around with pleated sweats, but always ended up scrapping it," he says. "I would be wearing them and the knee pads didn't work." But by using the same sort of stitching on the new baseline hoodie, it finally became a reality. There's also a technical take on a Baja poncho in "Dune" that adds to JE + Co.'s growing outerwear offering, a drop-shoulder pullover sweater that really flies under the radar and an extended "Mercer" tee, all in a soft grey "Plaster" tone.
If you're fortunate enough to be in Vancouver, Roden Gray will be hosting an in-store event with John this Thursday, June 18th, in conjunction with the opening of the shop-in-shop. The "Dust" collection drops online Monday, June 22nd at 11am EST.
