After spending his early childhood in the Eastern Mediterranean sun-trap of Cyprus, Elliot moved to the (slightly less sunny) south of England with his family to continue his school education. At 18, he swiftly relocated north to (predominantly grey) Scotland, where he gained his BA in Womenswear at Edinburgh College of Art. Clearly not having the distraction of endless tanning-time served him well, as on graduation he received the commendable Waterman Fashion Illustration prize, awarded by David Downton and Erin O’Connor.
Fast forward a few years and Elliot is now permanently based in London and autumn/winter 11 saw his first on-schedule London Fashion Week show with star-makers Fashion East. The collection was inspired by Native America with clean shirts, strong metal collar tips and necktie details throughout, giving allusion to extreme body piercing.
Michael Stephens spoke to Elliot about his latest collection and future plans.
When did you first realise that you wanted to work in fashion? When I was about sixteen, I was kind of a loner… A little bit hillbilly. I used to wear these ripped and torn Gaultier jeans and had a tan. Very provincial! I would watch FTV religiously, spending my money on magazines and nail varnish. I obsessed over design. Then it took a few years in Salisbury College, followed by a few in Edinburgh College of Art to train following all this.
How would you describe your design aesthetic? It’s delicate, opulent femininity but with a tough edge – quietly confident yet darkly hedonistic.
How did it feel to present your first on-schedule show at London Fashion Week A/W 11? Really good! Lulu Kennedy and the Fashion East team are really great supporters to work with. I’m really grateful. It’s taken a few years of concentrating on my sales relationships/profile, so it’s nice now to take the collections to that level. I work with a small team who really believe in the brand, which has been influential in the business becoming as established as it has.
Tell us a little about the collection and where the inspiration for it originated… A/W 11 was a study of American history. There was this Native American influence, using feathers and silver metal embroidery and embellishment. Textures like leather, shearling and a woven snakeskin material were used to represent raw, native dress. There was this juxtaposing strictness between sharp tailoring and styling in reference to post-depression America and Gold Rush eras. It’s that very severe, smokey look of those times. Inspiration was drawn from the film ‘There Will Be Blood’. I used Aran and Tartan in reference to the colonisation of America from Scottish, English and Irish settlers
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Which designers or artists do you look to for inspiration? I’m inspired by film lately. My publicist and sales agent gave me ‘A Man Within’ for my birthday. Its an incredible William Burroughs biog. I’ve been watching a lot of Tarantino, I’d forgotten how good ‘Kill Bill’ is! I’ve also seen ‘A Single Man’ a good five or so times lately! I really love Tom Ford, I love Gucci under his direction (alongside Roitfeld).
Are you currently working on any other projects? I’m working on the production for stores. We will now be selling to Opening Ceremony (NYC/LA) and I.T (Hong Kong), which are new stores for the brand. I am developing a line for ASOS as part of ASOS.inc, which will be released in February next year. I’m also working on spring/summer 12 over the coming months.
Text by Michael Stephens (Originally for i-D Online)
