After two seasons of presentations, J.L.-A.L. returned to Paris for his first runway show. The young British designer with a French name, Jean-Luc Ambridge Lavelle debuted with a collection that leaned heavily into texture, weight and atmosphere, using material for emotional force.
For his first official calendar outing, titled “Tristitia,” the collection marked a shift in scale and ambition while being deeply introspective and even a bit haunting.
The starting point was a sense of mourning that Lavelle feels for his generation. The collection was built around what he described as a feeling of lost promise, a future that no longer makes sense.
His Gen Z anxiety grew into research of how artists have represented grief throughout history, leading him to the Italian Renaissance and Venetian and Bolognese architecture.
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Those references were most visible in the fabrics. Venetian moiré appeared early in the show, used on trousers and cropped jackets, while heavier draped looks were based on the dense curtains found in Italian cathedrals. A stiff leather cord threaded through outerwear, cinching fabric the way a curtain is gathered, giving weight and shape to the silhouette. Architectural motifs were interpreted as knife-pleating on collars and cuffs.
Draping was a constant theme, explored across contrasting materials. The same cinching techniques were seen in a brushed wool jacket and shearling, offering up tactile contrast to the tough, modern shapes.
“It kind of always came back to this sensation of the future, feeling like very cloudy, like planning 20 years ahead doesn’t feel possible anymore,” he said. “So we really wanted to embody that and with the hair as well. That things are very ‘short-sighted.’”
The models’ faces were partially obscured by brushed-over wigs, which were conceived to function as veils. Rather than literal references to traditional mourning veils, the hair created a sense of obscured vision, reflecting what the designer described as a “cloudy” view of the future and a growing sense of short-sightedness in today’s times.
With all this eco-anxiety, sustainability is a priority for the designer. The collection is made in limited runs at sustainable mills in Italy and Japan to avoid overproduction, and uses certified and natural fabrics where possible.
Currently in around 60 stores worldwide, the plan is to refine this network to focus on DTC sales while consolidating physical retail.
The unassuming Lavelle didn’t take a bow at the end. “I did peek my head out a bit,” he said. “I’m super shy.” Still, the debut collection felt assured and a solid foundation for, well, the future.