PHOTOGRAPHED BY DANIEL GOODE
SEPTEMBER
P Johnson’s September Women’s collection elaborates on the journey of a European artist-traveller, proposing a wardrobe of elegant sufficiency accompanying a stage in the sultry Indonesian Archipelago. The pieces reflect the ease of pace, the natural colours and textures of a world where textiles occupy the subliminal domain of women in a bipartite male-female universe. While the recent resort collection took a more direct influence from the very meaningful Ikat and Songket weaves, here the pieces reflect the experience of the traveller - the trigger source of inspiration comes through Ni Pollok, the Balinese wife to Belgian Painter Adrien-Jean le Mayeur.
We revisit the crepon beauty of the Clara top and skirt, this time in the most complex carmine, summoning memories of cochineal, something that would make Indonesiaphile painter Ian Fairweather jerk alive. The Italian made semi-sheer crepon has an attractive dry touch and coolness about it, and is made via combination of silk and cotton. Striking yet somehow not noisy.
The Esme dress is a square cut shift of great purity, perfect for the day. Its broad straps, button front, intriguing square neckline, side pockets and retrograde mood are distinctly feminine. The ‘bowline’ print somehow levers the ikat visual logic while being an extension of our house print language. The feature buffalo horn buttons are emblazoned with our tortoise motif and motto.
The Sira top with its singular strap, fabric knot and collapsed drapes subtly nods to traditional Indonesian influence. The textured linen blend fabric affects some rusticity and rudiments while the whole effect by contrast is rather elevated with evening wear appeal.
The earthy mocha coloured Adelia jacket is an elegantly playful, breezy and shirt-y jacket. Its simple, only fractionally waisted profile is brought to life through an Italian woven linen blend adding fine slubbing and charm. The base level patch pockets belie labour and pitch the duty of the garment somewhere more ambiguous. Paired with the matching Evalin short you acquire a gorgeous traveller’s look, with the matching Helena straight skirt you achieve something more elevated and powerful. All versatile pieces that marry easily with the whole collection.
The beauty we find in fully-fashioned knitwear is evident in this collection. Soft, sensual and breathable pieces of varied duty add ease to outfitting.
The Annie top is a daily driver made from long-staple cotton yarn. In a charge of colour we have included a carefully pitched scarlet red alongside a powdery, mild blue, and an off white. With its cropped cut, high inverted rollneck, squared out armhole and heavy ribbing you have a versatile, joyous piece of endless application. Long sleeve equivalents come in the Jeanne boatneck sweater: perfectly useful, fresh, felicitous and willing for jeans and skirts.
The Dree series of knits offer greater refinement, and employ an exquisitely delicate wide-waled ladder stitch design. The yarn is a silk-linen-cotton blend yielding an elevated and yet not entirely frangible network. Dree comes in a tank, a sweater and a skirt, leaving multiple sets and separates to engineer. The skirt comes in black and off white while the tops in off white and ‘driftwood’ - a taupe of sorts.
The Gabrielle jacket and skirt set holds a strong vintage resonance with determined, delicate femininity. The Italian woven fabric of inter-spun silk, linen and cotton yields a light summer tweed-y effect, both fresh and organic in appeal. The jacket is fully-lined and closes at the neck with the same tortoise-emblazoned feature button, as does the mini skirt at its side-closure tab. The perfect cut skirt sits lightly on the hips and both pieces separate easily. This is a reductive and subtle outfit in the single stone colour, yet equally spry and characterful.
Rounding out the cut-and-sew pieces we revisit the Margherita top in black, navy and white cady fabrics. Considered a P Johnson staple these cowl neck tops supply a little force and sensuality to more dressy looks. To offer outfitting latitude we have also made Margherita in a pure silk twill printed with our new bowline motif, scaled down from the Esme reference, which will align itself with many bottoms in the collection and existing P Johnson pieces.
If anything from the campaign laps at your cerebral cortex please don’t hesitate to contact your client advisor, if you don’t have one, we can easily arrange it.
