Let's get right to the point, S/S 16 is John Elliott's most conceptual and thought out collection to date. There's no other way to put it. Speaking with John before the show he mentioned the mission to strike a balance between technicality and a more military reference, inspired by a trip he took to Vietnam where he ran every single day—hence the collection name, "Running Through Vietnam: Structure From Chaos." And though the military reference is there, he wanted to separate it from connotations to the Vietnam War. Instead, he was focused on the colors. John is a professed fan of colder colors and that admiration showed with a cold runway set sparked by white florescent light bars. "It was about research on color palette and hit a washed, faded, color palette. I hate anything with a warm feel to it. So for spring, I wanted to hit that paleness," John said.
As a result, the collection is decidedly colder than the warmer temperatures of typical S/S fare with lots of greys and whites, some black, blue and olive drab. Pieces are washed and well-worn rather than crispy and fresh out of the box. The military aesthetic is clear with field jackets, bombers and outerwear featuring a decidedly mil-spec look, but there are also technical pieces like the long white anorak and the bevy of layered shorts, leggings and tights worn together in a way you wish you could pull off in real life. It's a mix of old and new in a tight package. It's becoming clearer with each season that the John Elliott uniform is no longer Villains on top of Escobars, but a much wider range to choose from. We're all for that.
