JOHN ELLIOTT DROPS SPRING ’18 COLLECTION PREVIEW ON INSTAGRAM

On Friday, Los Angeles-based designer John Elliott answered a question the men’s industry had been asking for weeks; how will the designer execute his spring/summer ‘18 collection debut in Paris? At 6:30pm, Paris time, Elliott, in collaboration with friends of the brand, rolled out the collection within minutes and without warning on social media.

The collection, dubbed “Field Manual”, was revealed to a global audience from individual Instagrammers that included a mix of male and female artists, models, athletes and musicians. Model Luka Sabbat revealed the first look and led followers to preview the next in the series, modeled by Victoria Secret super model Josephine Skriver. Thus, a chain reaction unfolded taking viewers on a social media journey through Elliott’s interpretation of desert style.

“Our motivation coming to Paris was widely a business decision,” said Elliott. “We wanted to come here and present the collection to the industry in an intimate way but reinvent the way we present and involve the consumer with the debut of a new season. We don’t only want the world to see and experience the collection in a way that is engaging and interactive, but it was also important for us to see our clothes styled on some of our friends we look to for inspiration. They exemplify the qualities of our brand – pushing yourself out of your comfort zone and breaching boundaries.”

The 24-look collection was inspired from a road trip Elliott and his girlfriend went on earlier this year. The two traveled the South West visiting Joshua tree, Death Valley, and the Mojavi desert which influenced the patterns and pallet of the new season.

“That trip made me want to take the nucleus of our brand to the desert,” added Elliott. “The tones and colors reminded my girlfriend and I of summers growing up – we’d leave out t-shirts out in the sun for hours and when we ended up throwing them back on, they’d be a pale, washed out version of before taking them off. We both knew I had to adapt that into the collection.”

New styles featured indoor soccer shorts, washed corduroy thumper jackets and tonal tie-dyed tech-pieces. Three Japanese-based brand collaborations were incorporated throughout including an on-going partnership with leather artisans Blackmeans (leather jacket), Suicoke Slides, and transformative two-in-one bags by Briefings.