Functional Aesthetics: Meet Jean-Luc Ambridge
Something about the U.K. seems to foster and breed young creative talent, the majority of which have featured on Sabukaru Online in some way or another.
The aforementioned includes the likes of Rob Boyd, Bonnie Carr, Louis Williams and now, Jean-Luc Ambridge Lavelle, known by his Instagram moniker, @j_la.l_. Whether it’s a result of the environment these individuals grow up in, who they were surrounded by or figures who paved the way for their creative nuances to flourish. It’s something we’re likely to touch on and keen to explore through these interviews with younger designers. Their backgrounds are unique, oftentimes they have no formal qualifications or background in a design-related field but their tenacity, knowledge and skill is equally, if not more, matched to those who ventured down a traditional path of pursuing education. Not a dig, just an observation.
The waters have become increasingly murky for the current generation of designers, many of whom battle with creative blocks, ethical and sustainable minefields as well as finding the balance between pursuing their craft and making a living. The best way to understand this kind of thing is to speak to someone directly in that spot, that person being: Jean-Luc Ambridge Lavelle (j_la.l_). Jean-Luc is in a relatively unique situation to designers and creatives we have spotlighted and spoken to in the past. His background is far from traditional in terms of studying at a higher education in a fashion-related discipline; instead, he came to making clothes in a mere two years which, when you see his creations, is hard to comprehend. Before pursuing garment design, he studied graphic design and then speculative and critical design at degree level.
In March 2020, when the world seemed to grind to a halt, many of us were left twiddling our thumbs and trying to find activities to occupy the time. Some of us took to Netflix, running or threw ourselves into our creative passions, but Jean-Luc saw this as his opportunity to further pursue a burning design he had, spurred on by a course he undertook 6 months prior: ‘An Introduction to Sewing’. With an abundance of time on his hands [literally], he taught himself to sew and pattern cut more intricately, sharing many of his designs on his Instagram account garnering him a small but interested and dedicated audience.
The vast majority of his creations are of a technical nature with 3L waterproof materials, taped seams, vented pit-zips and adjustable detailing being part-and-parcel of his work now. To name but a few, some of his pieces include the ‘Estuary Jacket’ - arguably, one of the first pieces to really pick up momentum -, Mesh Paneled Tracksuit and Topographic Puffer Gilet. If we take a look at the ‘Estuary Jacket’, for example, it was inspired by a trip to Hastings where the estuaries and rivers run in the sea, bringing an outdoors dimension to his process. To start, the base jacket is constructed from two materials one of which is a deadstock 3ply twill and the other being a 100% recycled 3ply nylon. Adding a sustainable element to the jacket, a factor which would later become integral to his work is the use of deadstock material as well as using zips repurposed from previous experiments. To round it off, the jacket features a total of 10 pockets, articulated sleeves, taped seams, adjustable hem & cuffs, gusseted under arms, and more!
Technology has been a critical aid in Jean-Luc’s process, something he acknowledges later on in this feature, as he learnt to use CLO - a fashion design software program creating visual, real-to-life visualisations of garments. It’s quite interesting to see what he musters up using this technology as it shows a different side to the end result.
Without further ado, we ought to stop going on and let him speak for himself; we had the opportunity to catch up with Jean-Luc to discuss sustainability throughout the design process, aligning his personal vision with clients and what the future may hold for him.
For those who don’t know, Jean-Luc, please could you tell the Sabukaru audience a little bit about who you are and what you do?
I’m a designer based in London, I’m pretty new to this branch of design. I design and make clothing with sport/functional/technical attributes.
Do you come from a traditional background in fashion design?
Not really, I learnt to sew around 2 years ago and have been teaching myself to pattern cut and make clothes ever since. Originally, I studied graphic design and then speculative/critical design at degree level. I produce all of my garments through the use of CLO which is a CAD software specifically developed for garment design. I taught myself to use this software at some point during the first UK lockdown and have been using it daily since then.
Is this a path you had ever considered pursuing or a rabbit hole you fell down? Maybe you have always had a particular interest in technical clothing or a creative nuance?
I think this is more of a rabbit hole I’ve fallen into. I’ve liked technical clothing since I was about 16/17, but I never really thought about making it myself. The whole industry felt really unapproachable to me when I was initially looking to study at university. However, I’m pretty happy I’ve explored a few disciplines before settling on something I really enjoy.
As a young designer in this day and age, how important is it to be mindful and sustainable throughout the design process?
I think anyone approaching design [and anything else] should consider this as one of their top priorities. I don’t speak about it enough, but it won’t be possible to do it any other way in the future so you might as well start now. It was difficult when starting out and learning as I just used whatever fabrics I could get my hands on, but as I’m beginning to take things more seriously it’s vital because the world is literally burning.
Do you have a favourite piece from your personal collection? If not, what is one garment you would like to own or see in the flesh?
I think one I would love to own is the Final Home ‘on-air’ jacket - I just love how it’s constructed. Hopefully, I can work something out like that one day.
You manage to source some interesting leftover and deadstock fabric from the likes of Hermès. Is this a conscious decision to be more mindful or is it from a cost standpoint?
It’s kind of a two birds with one stone scenario. I was originally ordering a lot of recycled and deadstock fabric from suppliers over in Europe and after Brexit everything became really difficult to source, a lot of places wouldn’t ship to the UK. I have a few friends who run brands In London and they often have left over fabrics from their previous collections. It made way more sense ecologically to just purchase from them and pick it up myself rather than wasting loads of air miles on getting things sent to the UK. I may have to re-evaluate this when I start purchasing larger quantities, but for the time being this seems to be the most eco-friendly way for me to make this type of clothing.
What kind of fabrics and materials do you like working with and why? Maybe you could talk about how they suit different silhouettes as opposed to others?
I love working with 3-layer fabrics. They bond together really well and I always like something to be waterproof/resistant if applicable. I’ve recently been using quite a lot of sports jerseys due to it being summer. They’re really interesting to work with and it's been nice to have some of my own pieces to wear when I’m training.
In regards to fabrics and silhouettes, it depends on the season and design. I think everything has a place but I tend to prefer sturdier fabrics for trousers as I like a lot of shaping in the pattern development and sturdier fabrics help accentuate this. I’ve done a few track pants in lighter jersey and stretch nylons as well though. But, in general, I like to work with a variety of fabrics as there’s always something new and interesting to find out.
I made a t-shirt from a water soluble biopolymer some of my friends developed for biodegradable food packaging. It wasn’t functional at all but it's interesting seeing what alternative materials people are capable of producing.
Please could you tell us about some of the looks you are working on at the moment?
I’m working on some more function-focused garments at the moment. I’d like to produce a small capsule around interchangeable sportswear, so I’m just trying to develop some patterns and pocket techniques that suit an interdisciplinary approach to sportswear.
Perhaps you could pick out one item for us that you have designed and take a deep dive into it: inspiration behind the garment, process and the construction that goes into it?
Yeah, it could be fun to jump into the Estuary Jacket. I think it was the first jacket that kind of blew up which I was pretty shocked by.
I’d been trying to perfect a lot of my hood pattern cutting and wanted to experiment with side fastening zip applications. I was staying in Hastings with my partner Octi over Christmas and we’d been doing a lot of coastal walks and I thought all the rivers and estuaries running into the sea were really interesting.
Most evenings I was going back and working on the patterns and eventually the sidewinder zip kind of clicked with these bodies of water, so I decided to try and incorporate some decorative seam lines and paneling to mimic the estuaries and rivers.
At this point I was still quite early on into the process of designing so I wanted to explore a range of pocket applications and techniques. I thought it would be interesting to try and put these all into a jacket but in a way that actually served a purpose. I think it ended up with 10 in total. I’ve used them all so that's good.
Have you been approached by any brands or designers to outsource your skills? If so, do you find it difficult to almost compromise your vision to align with their wants and needs?
Yes, I have; I’ve been consulting and freelancing quite a bit recently which has been a really interesting learning curve. I think it can be difficult to restrain yourself to fit with the wider economic restrictions that come from mass producing clothes, but it’s always fun to work within certain perimeters and restrictions as it often brings more creativity.
What does the future hold for you in a design context?
I have no idea, I just want to carry on designing.
Your comments are littered with people asking, ‘Where can I buy this?’. Can we expect to see a small release of garments soon?
Aha, yeah, I feel bad I get asked that so much. If things go to plan people should be able to get hold of some bits next year. I’m not exactly sure what they will be, but some of the jackets will be mad expensive to produce on a small scale so I’m just working that all out
Do you have any podcast, book or music recommendations for the Sabukaru readers?
Recently I’ve been listening to a lot of YS Bach when I’m sewing in the studio. I was listening to loads of Chief Keef and Gucci Mane, Drain Gang, etc… , but I’ve found classical music helps me focus more when I’m working but I don’t walk around listening to it.
I don’t have any good podcasts but there are loads of amazing lectures on the Royal Institute YouTube Channel that are great to work too.
Finally, what is one piece of advice you could give to someone who may be in the same situation you were 18-24 months ago?
I don’t really feel in the position to be giving advice, but I think just keep trying and learning. Don’t make one thing and jump straight into trying to sell a collection or item, spend some time making loads of different things half of which won’t work but at least you’re learning. I see a lot of people trying to sell stuff too early and it's good to be patient.
What we find incredibly admirable about Jean-Luc is his entry into the ‘industry’ by pursuing a hobby and creative outlet; it opens up a dialogue for people who may be a bit bewildered by this field. Also, the way he shares the process behind some of his creations, which, in the early stages, were sewn by himself, shows that with a little bit of learning and the willingness to do so, you can try a similar thing.
The future looks bright for Jean-Luc so make sure you stay checked in with what he’s up to via his Instagram - @ j_la.l_ - where he shares his latest designs as well as the odd insight into the process behind the clothing. Also, if we bug him enough we might be able to get some gear from him!
Words by Ali George Hinkins
Interview by Ali George Hinkins
Layout by Koko Bond-Razak
