JOHN BARTLETT | FALL / WINTER 2012

John Bartlett delivers a rugged, mountain man aesthetic each season, and Fall / Winter 2012 is no exception.

The debuting show at New York Fashion Week borrowed cues from William Golding’s Lord of the Flies and the 2004 film ‘The Life Aquatic’, with the show offering a mix or streamlined silhouettes with light body shirts and high-waisted slacks. “It’s Lord of the Flies,” Bartlett explained. “I wanted them outdoorsy.”

This is the first cruelty-free menswear collection to appear at Fashion Week and was debuted on models that looked as though they had fallen down a muddy hill on a rainy autumn day, or were set for a deep-sea fishing voyage.

Using eco-friendly, recycled textiles throughout the collection, Bartlett has revamped green fashion: “It was a challenge keeping it vegan,” Bartlett explained, “But there’s now more meaning in the clothes.”

With a complete commitment to ethics and synthetics, the leather produced for Bartlett was Ultrasuede, the Black Watch tartans were nylon – not wool, and the fibers, which were real (such as in the Hudson’s Bay blanket coats and poncho) were recycled vintage.

The modern materials did nothing to detract from the pieces and there were many key items that were wearable such as a plaid mac and ultra-suede racer jacket.

Beautiful pops of colour are the collections starring role and are layered on top of gray and green plaids. A bright orange beanie topped off the collection to give it a seafaring gent vibe.

The overall effect is one of outdoorsy, all-American appeal, made up of sailor stripes, lumberjack plaids, and refashioned Hudson’s Bay point blankets.

Season after season Bartlett proves that designing a collection full of fundamentals can be fun as well as essential.

- Charlotte Clarke