Life in Fashion: A Conversation with Elgar Johnson

Interviewed by Andrew Roberts

Hello Elgar, can you introduce yourself to the audience? 

Yeah, I’m Elgar Johnson, I’m a creative consultant. I am editor in chief of a sport-style magazine called CircleZeroEight and I’m a thinker. That’s my job I just think a lot.

You started your career as a model, how did it happen?

I was scouted, I’ve been scouted a few times before. When I was a lot younger I didn’t know what it meant but I was scared about the Clothes Show in Birmingham, you’re way too young probably to even know what that is but it’s the Clothes Show. There was a closure, maybe they still do it once a year. And then I was on holiday in New York and got scouted. Then that was the kind of the start of that opportunity. I was sort of like I’m gonna give it a go. So I moved to New York, I lived there for a bit then moved back to London. And yeah, that’s really where it all started for me. To be honest, it was all a bit of luck. 

Why did you transition out of modelling? Did you have any fears at the time?

I transitioned out of it because I didn’t enjoy being a model. I think it was something that I was grateful for because it obviously opens up so many doors. And you know, it’s great to sort of say you are a model I guess, but I didn’t like having my pictures taken. I’m quite shy and in that sort of world. So it just wasn’t something that I was interested in. I was really grateful when I got the opportunity to move out a bit to be honest, when I sort of started to transition out of being a model into the other side of the industry, I was still doing bits of modelling anyway. Like you know where I started, I first started assisting Simon Foxton then he used to use me as one of his models. So I’d assist him but also be in some of his shoots and stuff like that. So, I still had to do a bit of it, but I didn’t like the whole modelling thing. And think now as I’ve got older I look back at it, I think there’s loads of reasons why I didn’t like it. I think I didn’t like the way that people were treated. They’re treated really badly, especially male models. I think they sometimes get overlooked almost because there are so many terrible things that happen. So many people were guessing that industry sometimes and the men sort of don’t usually come forward or say anything. But I saw lots of strange things happening that maybe I didn’t realise at the time it was happening. This is such a big thing because even people ask me do I consider it to be a scary space. There’s a lot of pressure.

What are the key things you learnt about fashion and yourself whilst working as a model?

I learned that I was independent I didn’t like being told what to do. I didn’t like relying on people, I didn't like relying on clients booking me or agents putting me forward to things I like the idea of going out and getting things myself. And that was one of the main things that I learned from, it is that I didn't just want to sit around it was a lot of sitting around as a model. And maybe because I wasn't a very good one because there's loads of good ones and they probably don't sit around at all they probably planes guys all over the place. But I spent a lot of time sitting around and thinking and sometimes that's good, sometimes that's not so good. So I'm a sort of a person that has to get up and go and get things. I can't just sit around and wait for them to happen,

How did you meet Simon Foxton and how did you become his assistant?

I was going to a casting full show studio, which is Nick's nice platform. And Simon was styling some, I think it was like a Galliano special or something. And I went to see him and I'd sort of heard about Simon Fox and through various different people that he was some sort of myth or something. And, and I just turned up, and he was sort of like, really nice, friendly person and who, which I wasn't expecting because I've not had the best experiences with people, especially big, big stylists I think. And you know, he was fashion director of ID I think, at the time and stuff. So he was like a, I mean, he is still the greatest menswear stylist, I personally think, but you know, he was so kind and so normal. And I had my Liverpool football shirt on, because I'm a big Liverpool fan. And we spoke about that for ages, we just talked about Liverpool and he spoke about him and his work in the fashion industry. And I just thought, well, I hate modelling, but I do love, like hanging out. So I thought I'm just gonna assist him. So I didn't really know what assisting meant to be honest, I just felt like I could just start hanging out with him, which I kind of did. Eventually, he took me, it took ages to get an assistant job with him. Because he just didn't get back to my emails. And then when he did, he kept saying, oh, you know, I just got back from Paris, or I've just got back from Milan, you just like that awkward. He is really busy. So I guess that is true. Now I know Simon so well. And him being one of my closest dearest friends. I know he was probably lying because he doesn't like to travel anywhere. So he was probably just like having me on and just couldn't be bothered to get back to me. Eventually, he did. And he said, like, come down. But you won't be able to do anything. So I've already got two or three assistants, but you can watch. So I did that. And I just went down and sort of made tea and watched and I did that for the first few shoots of him because he did have two or three assistants that were ahead of me. And that was it. And I just started becoming friends with people I guess, like on set and everyone seemed quite sort of fun around Simon's world. They all seem quite sort of normal. If that's if that's even a word. But I kind of I felt comfortable. And I didn't realise actually how important and how, you know, I guess. Yeah, how important Simon was until I sort of started hanging around him and seeing how people acted around him. So I was very lucky. Really, again, it's kind of a similar story to the Edward Enninful story, I think, you know, Simon found him on the train and stuff like that. It's the same but different. Because all Simon's found lots of brilliant people, you know, he's, you know, he's Jonathan Kaye, who's an incredible income incredible stylists. Now he's, I think he's at the gentlewoman or one of those magazines. And he's, he was coming on at one of his assistants, as well. So he's got a really good track record of finding, like, different types of people in this industry that go on to do different types of things.

At the time when you met Simon were you already thinking about moving into styling?

I definitely wasn't. I didn't care about clothes that much. I just wanted to do something interesting. And I just I love you know, I was a big fan of Ray Pesci when I was growing up because I used to my sister used to get i-D and The Face and those sorts of magazines and like raised pictures with EBMs Simon's pictures could be in there even though I didn't know. Simon. I Ray was sort of a bigger person. ality within popular culture because of Neneh Cherry in the Buffalo whole situation. So I kind of was aware of him and and I can't think I can't remember his name is Nick Heyman, you know, Nick came in was a huge model and singer and went out and Madonna and this and so they were all this group that I knew about. So I liked the way they looked. And it to be honest, it was the first time I'd never seen sort of mixed-race people in magazines, especially men. I've never seen mixed-race men or anything like or black men really styled in magazines before. I still sort of saw the ideas and the faces of, you know, Simon and Ray and stuff like that. So I liked. I liked the idea of the imaging. I liked looking at the people. And I think I've realised the longer I've gone in my career now that I still don't think I'm that interesting, close, I can appreciate fashion. I think it's really important. But I think I love looking at people more. I'm a bit of a voyeur. And I think I get inspired by faces and personalities, probably more than they do clothes. Which I think is fair enough. I think everyone's different. And I think that's okay. But yeah, I think for me, it was never really, it was never part of the plan. But it was amazing. It's been amazing. And it's helped me so much. And I'm really appreciative of it. And I've done some decent shoots I mean, if you always bit negative about your own work, I think sometimes you've got that. Oh, God, you know, that was terrible. That was terrible. Actually there when I look back now there's actually some really good things in there that I liked. So to answer your question, no, I didn't want to be a stylist. But yes, I am grateful. I was a stylist and ama stylist or whatever you want to call me now. So yeah.