All Beneath Heaven, an Organic, Gender-neutral, L.A.-based Brand – WWD

Meet All Beneath Heaven, a label by designer Jimmy Alexander.

It’s his fashion debut — a gender-neutral line handcrafted with all organic, bespoke materials. Created in India, using fair labor practices, it’s 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’ve got to live to them,” said Alexander.

“What quality means beyond the material, quality in terms of intention,” he continued. “That’s what quality really is.”

Living in Highland Park, in northeast 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 kind of always had this feeling that I had something to say in myself,” he said. “Dressing has been the way that I express myself throughout my life. That’s probably one of the constants.”

It was after moving to L.A. four years ago that he left music to pursue design. And his path took a turn after he wandered into Mohawk General Store in Silver Lake, he said, making friends with owners Kevin and Bo Carney. He showed Kevin his sketches and was hired to join on styling jobs and buying trips to New York and Paris.

“That lasted six months and then the pandemic hit,” said Alexander.

That’s when All Beneath Heaven, two years in the making, began to take shape.

“I call them chapters,” he said of the collections, referring to the pieces as “expressions.” “This is prologue. The next one is going to be chapter one.”

Using hand embroidery, silk, linen, cotton, velvet — all organic — and hand-painted prints, there’s a childlike, poetic sensibility throughout.

“All Beneath Heaven is really born out of my interest in the metaphysical and in Zen and in the idea that it’s a universal mind,” he said.

He named a suit jacket “Reach for the Stars Within,” which features a red ladder winding up to a golden star.

“The back is the universe,” he explained, revealing the other side — his outer space. “The idea is you are the universe. The universe is within.”

Some of the pieces include haikus, playing with the idea of the self. Others reference “creator and creation.”

“Fashion uses artists’ work so much. But how could I do it in a way that’s my perspective, you know? And I’m always interested in where the artists and the art divides. Who is the person behind this piece?”

A silk top showcases a postcard written by Frida Kahlo, while a pair of linen-cotton shorts bring to life a letter Pablo Picasso wrote Gertrude Stein “talking about his competitiveness to [Henri] Matisse,” explained Alexander. There’s a jacket paying homage to Peter Blake’s “Self-Portrait With Badges,” a painting Alexander grew fascinated by after seeing it at the Tate Museum as a kid.

“This is my play on a David Hockney swimming pool,” he said of another, titled “Splash.” “Another Brit who moved to L.A. and got obsessed by color and light.”

It’s playful, with functionality in mind. A suit jacket, using magnets as buttons, can be worn three different ways — and as a dress — shifting the size and shape.

“I like the idea of a person being able to choose their proportions and how they wear something,” said Alexander.

The fits are largely oversized, always made with curved angles.

“They’re shapes that are flowing and that have space to move,” he said. “A lot of oversized stuff has been used for power, you know, makes you feel powerful. Whereas for me, I’m more about making you feel childlike.”

He has his next three “chapters” envisioned: “They’re going to be very focused in on certain ideas.”

But first, he’s presenting the launch; along with the “expressions” apparel, priced between $610 and $3,400 (T-shirts start at $180), he’ll introduce “Blanks by All Beneath Heaven” at a lower price point, $390 to $980 (“the same shapes, same materials, but just organically block printed”).

There are also accessories — hats, pouches, ties and 3D-printed necklaces using precious metal, available in 14-karat gold, sterling silver or plated. They’re shaped as the anatomy of a human heart, the word “listen” engraved inside.

“I’ve put everything into it, money, soul, everything,” he said of his creations. “Well, if anything, I’ve got a great wardrobe.”