The _J.L-A.L_ Fall/Winter 2024 Menswear collection embarks on an exploration of how garments contribute to the construction of identity and reality, particularly through the lens of corporate absurdity and the concept of simulacra. This collection interprets and reinterprets the symbols and meanings associated with corporate uniforms, creating a fictitious corporate headquarters as the setting for its narrative. The key elements of traditional uniforms are deconstructed and abstracted, allowing for an in-depth examination of their intricacies, utility, and details.
The themes of the collection are vividly brought to life in the _J.L-A.L_ F/W24 film, where uniformed archetypes move through surreal office interiors and liminal spaces, symbolizing a journey into the heart of an undefined architecture. In this collection, garments become a means of transmuting identity, serving as simulacra that form and drive continuity; the uniform itself becomes a vessel of meaning.
JLAL FW24 – Simulacra from Xavier Ambridge Lavelle on Vimeo.
Innovative design elements include striped shirts transformed into abstract forms and suiting adorned with steel spheres. The collection also features a collaboration with Italian mill Marzotto, showcasing fine wool crafted into three-layer outerwear staples. Designs such as crisp cotton overcoats with bellowing silhouettes, worker vests with integrated cooling systems, and softened leather bombers in nappa leather and ultralight wadding expand the wardrobe offering. The introduction of an internally developed line of footwear, including the Perlin Boot with wraparound elastic and geometric cutouts, and the Tracer Derby with raised channels and layered surfaces, adds a sleek and detailed element to the collection.
In a bespoke collaboration with Goldwin for F/W24, a jacket and trouser set made in Gore-Tex Pro is complemented by a matching jersey crewneck, merging Goldwin’s expertise in construction and performance fabric with _J.L-A.L_’s complex pattern cutting.
