William Johnson Is A Fashion Icon

I played Assassin's Creed: Rogue before Assassin's Creed III, so that is where I first saw William Johnson, and I could not help but notice his vibrant and extravagant (given the time period in which the story of the game takes place) clothing style. In  Rogue he has a limited role, appearing as just one of Haytham's closest associates within the Colonial Rite of the Templars, but still his noticeable choice of outfit cannot be ignored. In Assassin's Creed III, he is an important antagonist and low-rank villain who is the first that Connor kills in his quest for vengeance and justice. 

Having an obvious preference for the red color and similar tones, he sports the same iconic and vibrant style throughout more than two decades. In Rogue, he appears wearing a brown striped poncho, probably made of wool by the looks of it, over a bright red and brown overcoat decorated with what seems to be a strap that consists of numerous studs in the same color palette as his overall outfit (brown, red and the creamy white of his frilled shirt). The pattern of the strap appears also on some kind of wristbands that can be seen round the lowest part of his sleeves.

Below the waist, his outfit is equally fashionable. He can be seen wearing grey / green trousers and over-the-knee brown boots, decorated with leather gaiters in a slightly lighter shade of brown which are kept in place with bright red silk ribbons around the knees.

In Assassin's Creed III, his outfit looks like a variation of the one in Rogue. The pieces are the same, but the patterns and color tones are a bit different. His poncho is of a warmer brown and there are cross-like patterns on it, alongside his favorite stripes which however appear in a slightly different layout, while the studded strap has a now a new motif, albeit still playing with colors similar to those of the old one.

 

 

There is also a wide red stripe running along the back of his poncho, and the gaiters over his boots, although the same or similar to the ones he was wearing in Rogue, now are kept in place with dark brown cloth knee pads. Another interesting feature is his ponytail, which he steadily keeps throughout the years; in Rogue, it is tied with a dark piece of ribbon that is barely visible, replaced by a bigger and white one in Assassin's Creed III.

The real William Johnson was an important historical figure who played a major role in the Colonies. Although in the Assassin's Creed universe he is depicted as a rather relentless Templar, in reality he was in very good terms with the Mohawk communities and even offered his services as a mediator between the Colonists and the Native Americans. Still, just how he is shown in the games, he was mainly a merchant and he considered trade to be the most essential means of communication and social evolution. By looking at his portraits, we can see how he indeed liked to wear bright red clothes, although his actual style was quite common for that time, and rather toned down compared to the one he has in the games. It could be that the developers wanted to make a tribute to the real man's connection with the land's original residents, which is maybe why they gave him such a unique clothing style that has elements honoring the traditional and folk Native American culture.