Meet All Beneth Heaven, a label from designer Jimmy Alexander.
This is her fashion debut – a gender-neutral line handcrafted with all organic, bespoke ingredients. Made in India, using fair labor practices, this is a vivid collection of suits, collared shirts, tailored trousers, shorts and graphic T-shirts.
“If you’re doing it on your own to begin with, you can set those standards and then you have to live up to them,” Alexander said.
“What quality means beyond content, quality in terms of intent,” he continued. “That’s the quality really.”
Living in Highland Park in north-east Los Angeles, Alexander is originally from a small town near Brighton, England. He studied drama and theater in Birmingham before relocating to London, where he spent 10 years working in advertising, then music management.
“I always had the feeling that I had something to say about myself,” he said. “Getting dressed has been my way of expressing myself throughout my life. It’s probably one of the constants.”
After moving to LA four years ago he left music to pursue design. And her path took a turn after she wandered into the Mohawk General Store in Silver Lake, she said, befriending owners Kevin and Bo Carney. He showed Kevin his sketches and was hired to join him in a styling job and buy trips to New York and Paris.
“That went on for six months and then the pandemic hit,” Alexander said.
That’s when All Beneath Heaven, which took two years to build, began to take shape.
“I call them chapters,” he said of the collection, referring to the pieces as “expressions.” “This is the prologue. The next chapter is going to be one.”
Hand embroidered, using silk, linen, cotton, velvet – all organic – and hand-painted prints, it has a childlike, poetic sensibility.
“All Heaven Beneath is truly spiritual and born out of my interest in Zen and the idea that it is a universal mind,” he said.
He wore a suit jacket nicknamed “Reach for the Stars Within,” which featured a red lead winding up to a golden star.
“Behind is the universe,” he explained, revealing the other side—their outer space. “The idea is that you are the universe. The universe is within.”
Some pieces include haiku, playing with the idea of themselves. Others refer to “the creator and the creation”.
“Fashion makes great use of the work of artists. But how do I do it in a way that’s my point of view, you know? And I’ve always been interested in where the artist and the art divide. This piece Who’s behind?”
A silk top shows a postcard penned by Frida Kahlo, while a pair of linen-cotton shorts by Pablo Picasso enliven a letter to Gertrude Stein “talking about her competition.” [Henri] Matisse, ”explained Alexander. There is a jacket paying homage to Peter Blake’s “Self-Portrait with Badges”, a painting Alexander became fascinated by seeing it at the Tate Museum as a child.
“This is my play on the David Hockney swimming pool,” he said of another, titled “Splash.” “Another Brit who moved to L.A. and became obsessed with color and light.”
“Splash” shirt, $680, and shorts, $590. Suit jacket, $1,310, trousers, $810, tie, $160, and yellow shirt, $480.
Courtesy of All Under Heaven / Pranay Sarkar
It’s playful, with functionality in mind. A suit jacket can be worn three different ways, using magnets as buttons – and changing the shape and size – as a dress.
“I like the idea that a person is able to choose their proportions and how they wear something,” Alexander said.
Fits are noticeably larger, always made with curved angles.
“They are shapes that are flowing and that have room to move,” he said. “A lot of the big stuff has been used for power, you know, makes you feel powerful. Whereas for me, I’m more about making you feel like kids.”
Jimmy Alexander
Courtesy of All Under Heaven / Pranay Sarkar
He envisions his next three “chapters” as: “They’re going to be very focused on a few ideas.”
But first, he is presenting the launch; He’ll offer “Blanks by All Beneth Heaven” at a lower price point, $390 to $980 (“Same Size, Same Material”), with “expression” apparel priced between $610 and $3,400 (T-shirts start at $180) , but only block printed systematically”).
There are also accessories – hats, pouches, ties and 3D-printed necklaces using the precious metal – available in 14 karat gold, sterling silver or plated. They are shaped as the anatomy of the human heart, with the word “listen” engraved inside.
“I put everything in it, money, soul, everything,” he said of his creations. “Well, if anything, I have a great wardrobe.”
“Free as a Bird in the Sky” shirt, $860, and black shorts, $390. Suit jacket, $1,690, and trousers, $990.
Courtesy of All Under Heaven / Pranay Sarkar
Originally published at Pen 18
