SPRING / SUMMER 2019 RUNWAY MUSIC

For the Spring / Summer 2019 runway, set outdoors at a skatepark off of the Hudson River in New York City, John Elliott teamed up with LA native producer, Nosaj Thing, to provide the show’s original soundtrack. The Men’s and Women’s collections were inspired by the City of Los Angeles – the city that the brand calls home – and it was important for all elements to come together to strengthen this very narrative in an authentic way.

In this exclusive feature, the designer and producer discuss the inspiration behind the soundtrack to our SS19 show.

What attracted you to Nosaj Thing’s work?

John Elliott: I liked the genre Nosaj works within, and due to that, first discovered his music around 2013. At a time our brand was completely new and fresh, his sound was the same to me. To be honest I didn’t know at that time that he was from LA. I liked how he blended genre’s - he had a unique sound, and due to that, I’ve been a fan of his for years now. I was honored for him to work on this project.

How did this season’s concept, the city of Los Angeles, inspire this track? Tell us a bit about where you're from and how LA has influenced you.

Nosaj Thing: I was born and raised in Los Angeles so this project made a lot of sense. I've always wanted to do music for runway as well. Growing up, I listened to a lot of West Coast rap, rock, and electronic music. My friend took me to my first rave when I was 13 and since then I've been obsessively finding tunes online from the Napster / soul seek days.

John Elliott: The SS19 season was thematically based on Los Angeles, so, in providing the soundscape, I wanted the music to feel like it was part of the city. Nosaj has pioneered a uniquely LA sound for years. He and I share reference points in terms of how we grew up, what we listened to, and what skate videos we used to watch. We’re both fans of a style of music that is timeless.

The Spring/Summer runway show was set in a skate park, did skate culture have influence on the production of this track?

JE: We wanted something that felt like it was reminiscent of the city we live in, and also had nods to skate culture, with references to videos from our childhood. Personally speaking, I was a huge Plan B fan. We wanted it to feel dramatic - to have a beginning, middle, and end. I think Nosaj did an amazing job with that. If you watch video of our runway show, you can see people really enjoying the track he made, notably Justin Bieber.

NT: I started skating in middle school and found a lot of songs from videos so I thought it was a nice touch.

What role does music play for you in runway shows and what are some of your musical influences?

JE: Music is incredibly important to shows. I was recently at Virgil’s show and in the middle, he played Ghostface. When you utilize an iconic sound like that, it can evoke different memories for a lot of people, but can also create an entirely new reference point moving forward. Sound is one of your most important senses, it can create a feeling and an emotion that not only people in the audience, but also people watching on their phones or computers are affected by.

NT: My musical influences are kind of all over the place....from The Beatles, Dre, Timbo, Neptunes, Aphex, Brian Eno, Ryuichi Sakamoto, and my friends.

ARTIST: NOSAJ THING
TITLE: SPRING / SUMMER 2019 RUNWAY MUSIC
DURATION 10:06