John Elliott

John Elliott was founded in 2012 by the American designer and his longtime friend Aaron Lavee. Based in Los Angeles, the label began with a close study of everyday clothing. Jeans and jersey pieces became the foundation of a wardrobe shaped by Elliott’s interest in basketball and California skate culture.

The distinction lay in proportion and fabrication. A sweatshirt or T-shirt could become a design proposition through its length, fit, or treatment, even when the basic garment remained recognizable. Denim washes and custom-developed fabrics gave those apparently simple clothes much of their identity.

Elliott presented his first runway collection in New York for fall-winter 2015. The runway expanded the setting around the core pieces, introducing a broader seasonal wardrobe and more elaborate styling. Sports references continued to inform the clothes, while outerwear and tailoring opened up other ways to dress.

The designer remains closely involved in sourcing and fabric development, treating production as part of the creative process. His collaborations have included Nike and Gap, extending the label’s ideas into different contexts. Across those projects and its own collections, John Elliott’s central interest is in making casual clothes worth examining closely, with the feel and cut of a garment doing as much work as its image.