Within the hallowed, beautifully crumbling shell of Peckham’s Asylum Chapel, the air hung heavy with a spirit seldom felt in modern fashion. Gathered amongst John’s usual community of artists, collaborators, and kindred spirits, we sat amidst the derelict setting facing an outer ring of looming figures: a circle of scarecrows hidden beneath white sheets. John was in residency with us from 2016 to 2018, and in the years since, he has mastered the art of "world-building" in its most literal, visceral sense. The presentation of his latest collection, CXX Otherworld, was far more than a runway show; in true Skelton fashion, it was a raw enkindling of Neolithic British culture.

The show began with the primitive thud of a beaten drum as a masked figure, representing Cernunnos, the horned Celtic deity, prowled through the chapel. In Celtic mythology, Cernunnos is the mediator between the civilized and the wild, a character Skelton chose as the anchor for this collection. As the drum echoed against the stained glass, a masked figure moved toward a central light, turning the beam toward one of the shrouded forms as a second masked figure stripped away the white cloth to revealed the look hidden beneath.

"Scarecrows for me have always had this uncanniness to them," Skelton explained in his press release. "These sculptures created to conjure the presence of humanity yet are not but sometimes illicit such personality that they may suddenly spring to life." Drawing inspiration from Colin Garrett’s photography of the British countryside, John utilised the "hodgepodge" nature of how scarecrows are dressed to inform his styling, mixing fabrications with a purposeful, chaotic grace.

The collection itself is a testament to material storytelling. John noted that he wanted the garments to have a "roughly hewn earthy sensibility to it," paying homage to the natural colours the Celts obtained from plant dyes, such as "woads for blues and various berry’s in purple shades to hints of bronze reminiscent of jewellery in jacquards and shirting." These deep, somber tones were broken by un-dyed wools, knitwear, and linens, offering a sense of purity against the darker, textural tweeds sourced from mills across the British Isles.

Despite the heavy historical research, ranging from Brigantian deity fittings found in North Yorkshire to Celtic helmet-shaped hats hand-felted by Rachel Frost, Skelton avoids the trap of the theatrical. "Whilst the collection takes it's cues and decorative elements from what we know about what the Celts wore and their art it was important to bring this into my own world and not fashion some sort of archaic costume," he stated. The result is an emotional response to history, grounded by bronze serpent-like fastenings made in collaboration with Slim Barrett and silk jacquards that translate ancient symbols into modern silhouettes.

When the show ended, the ritualistic tension broke into something communal. As the house lights lifted, the "Otherworld" met the warmth of the everyday, with John’s own mother and father serving drinks - a grounding touch that has become the heartbeat of his shows. We were invited to step closer, circling the scarecrows to feel the weight and depth of the textiles up close. Skelton isn’t just reviving folklore; he is inviting us to inhabit it. It is a rare thing to see a designer so at home in another world while keeping his feet so firmly planted in his own.