John Elliott + Co. may be designing full, conceptual collections inspired by Vietnam nowadays, but many people were introduced to the brand by its Villain hoodie. The hoodie with the side-vent zippers has become an essential for every dude 's closet, whether you're buying the original or one of the dozens of knock offs that exist. Now, designer John Elliott has provided an incredible back story to the hoodie during an interview with GQ.
The inspiration for the hoodie came to Elliott, who is from San Francisco, while he was watching ESPN Classic highlights of an old playoff game that featured his hometown 49ers against the New York Giants. In the highlight, "[New York Giants linebacker Lawrence] Taylor destroyed [49ers quarterback Joe Montata]," Elliott tells GQ. "It looked like he got hit by a truck. Montana picks himself up out of the muddy turf, and his helmet’s crooked, and his jersey’s completely untucked. He had one of those hand warmers, and his asymmetrical jersey went over the front of it. So he tried to be casual and put his hands underneath the jersey, inside the vents—and bang, the light went on for me. I think I have an idea here.”
Elliott then took a sweatshirt, stitched zippers into the side seams, and hid a kangaroo pocket inside. He tells GQ the product is still "by far" the brand's best-selling.
However, Elliott admits the incredibly popular hoodie and Escobar sweatpants were both afterthoughts, and he originally launched as a denim-centric brand. He didn't buy the French Terry, the material both the aforementioned products are made out of, until right before launch when he realized he needed more than just denim and tees.
You can read the whole profile on John Elliott here.
