Johnny Diamandis

Background

About Johnny Diamandis

Johnny Diamandis is a highly experienced designer, creative lead, and educator with a uniquely international and eclectic background, working with some of the world’s most iconic brands and top art schools, which has set him apart from his contemporaries. Alongside his technical expertise, he is widely recognised for his strength in concept development and creative direction, often shaping the initial ideas and overarching vision that drive a collection or collaboration. Diamandis’ influences and inspiration come from a broad but well-founded place: a love of music and popular culture and its influence on style, a passion for vintage garment making and construction, especially military, and the engineering and making side of the craft. As a highly active individual across activities such as cycling and outdoor pursuits, this has led to a fascination with function for critical use. After holding many high-profile positions in the industry at brands such as Burberry and Evisu, Diamandis founded his own niche USA-made luggage and accessory line, J Panther Luggage Co, still active today and shipping internationally. He also co-founded a clothing brand in Shanghai, AK Club, where he served as design and creative lead and showed collections on the runway at Mercedes-Benz Shanghai Fashion Week 14 times. Diamandis continues to collaborate with outside brands, starting with a shoe collaboration with Cat Footwear and continuing most recently with the European-based conservation lifestyle brand That Gorilla Brand through the prestigious Exposure creative agency. Other collaborations as creative lead include White Mountaineering (Yosuke Aizawa), HBO Game of Thrones (Nikolaj Coster Waldau), and CrossFire Tencent (video game). Professionally, Diamandis focuses on crafting the best possible items by staying as close as possible to the make, fit, and design review process, and by working with items in physical form. A capable pattern maker, he worked tirelessly on the creation and development of iconic items for J Panther Luggage Co, which received international acclaim in The New York Times, Conde Nast, Vogue, and many other publications. In the classroom, he brings a well-informed, eclectic blend of industry and academic experience. His international outlook and deep involvement in hands-on making allow him to guide and challenge students in a grounded, practical way, forming a strong pedagogical approach helping shape the next generation of designers. His teaching experience includes RCA London, Parsons, and SAIC, and he is a graduate of Central Saint Martins.