Introducing P. Johnson x MR PORTER

Every month, MR PORTER, a global online men’s retailer and a conglomerate of the best menswear brands and designers in the world, add to their trusted retail platform for all of those shopaholics to feast their eyes upon.

It just so happens that last month, another Aussie was added to the exclusive and illustrious list that provides the world’s movers and shakers their daily fashion dosage.

Patrick Johnson, or ‘P Johnson’, is that fortunate designer to now be stocked on the MR PORTER website with his small ready-to-wear collection, but it’s been a long process for the Sydney-sider to reach the pinnacle in the men’s retail fashion space.  

Patrick Johnson initially trained to follow a completely different career path to the one he is now on.

“Growing up in South Australia, your career is usually defined by either medicine, law, or oenology,” Patrick Johnson says.

“I’m chronically dyslexic, so winemaker it was.” However, after studying oenology, Patrick had a freak accident that restricted him to continue in this field.

Fate? You would think so….

Despite a change in career, Patrick’s early appreciation for tailoring was a result from a family influence; his stepfather. Dressing well and abiding by a level of class as a gentleman should, it was his stepfather’s heavy English/Savile Row influence which inspired him to become an atelier.

“I used to go into his (stepfather) dressing room when I was a kid, which was absolutely phenomenal. It was like The Great Gatsby,” Patrick said.

The fact that Patrick grew up on a 4,000-hectare sheep farm near Adelaide absolutely developed his heavy appreciation for beautiful merino wool. So much so, that he has won a Woolmark Prize for his innovation with the fabric.

“Merino Wool behaves incredibly well. Cashmere is beautiful, but we all know it doesn’t last that long. If you’re buying an investment piece like a suit, merino really stands the test of time. It’s also extremely versatile. It can be heavyweight for winter or incredibly soft and light for summer,” Patrick said.

Over the past decade, Patrick has developed a distinctive style of tailoring that has earned him numerous accolades, and positioned him as one of Australia’s finest tailors.

It may be unbeknown to many, but Australia doesn’t have a rich heritage of tailoring; and it was this notion that Patrick took full advantage of.

“I can take the best of Italy, the best of Britain, the best of Asia and reinterpret it in a fresh new way,” Patrick said.

In doing so, Patrick has created something incredibly unique and special to the Australian men’s market, and in particular, Australian tailoring in general; a term which only a few years ago might have been considered an oxymoron.

Filling the void that has been missing for so long in the industry, Patrick has reinvented men’s style in Australia, and has given it a unique spin that was so importantly needed.

And it’s this reinvention (or invention) that has gained the interest of designers, stylists and buyers around the world, and positioned him in the dressing rooms of stylish gents alike.

In particular, a little online retailer by the name of MR PORTER.

“We worked with Patrick to put together a collection that showcases what P Johnson does best,” says MR PORTER Buying Manager Mr Sam Kershaw.

And what does Patrick’s collection look like?

Double-breasted suits, linen shirts, long-sleeve merino T-shirts and polo shirts, drawstring trousers, a mid-blue basket-weave blazer and a cream evening jacket. Think of something that James Bond would wear on the Italian Riviera; you’ll find this in Patrick’s collection.

“It’s all beautifully made, lightweight and versatile, perfect for the man who lives in or travels to warm places. It can be dressed up or down, worn as suits or separates,” Sam Kershaw said.