We are so PROUD to be an LGBTQIA+ ally. Equality, Love, and Pride are the principles that JL is built on. Join us in showing your support for your teammates and your community with our performance pride collection made in collaboration with Team JL Ambassador, Michael Toutloff, for Pride Month. Pride Month is celebrated every June in tribute to those involved in the Stonewall Riots, and we welcome you to get ready to celebrate around the boathouse with us! Order your gear now, and wear it in June!

10% of all net sales from this Pride Month 2024 pre-order store will be donated to The Trevor Project. The Trevor Project is the leading suicide prevention and crisis intervention nonprofit organization for LGBTQ+ young people. They provide information & support to LGBTQ+ young people 24/7, all year round. 

SHOP PRIDE 2024 PRE-ORDER STORE

This Pride 2024 pre-order store will be open through April 4. 

 

A word from the Michael: "Unicorns have been a source of legend and mystery in cultures around the world since ancient times. According to tradition, they are a source of good luck and prosperity in China, Korea, and Japan. The earliest written reference to unicorns in Western Literature originated in the Greek writer Ctesias’ book. He described horse sized animals, with white bodies, blue eyes, red heads, and a multicolored horn. It is now believed that he was describing the Indian rhinoceros.

The Victorians were the first to link unicorns and rainbows together. Both were seen as beautiful and rare things to be looked for, but ultimately were very elusive. In more modern times, unicorns became a symbol of LGBTQ culture due to the earlier associations between the animal and rainbows being extended to the rainbow flag created in 1978 by Gilbert Baker in San Francisco. Today, rainbow unicorns are seen everywhere. (remember Starbuck’s unicorn rainbow frappuccino?) One of those rainbow unicorns is ultimately how I came up with the idea for this design.

Once I knew that I would be partnering with JL on this collection, I began looking for ideas while on vacation. It was ultimately a discarded unicorn floatie that I came across early one morning while exploring in Florence Italy that became the inspiration for the collection. I was also noticing that French toile fabric was everywhere. In fact, the walls of our hotel in Paris were covered in it. With both of these ideas in mind, I began to think of how I could combine the two and make unicorn toile fabric that could be used for a Pride collection. Luckily the design team at JL was up for the challenge based off of some sketches and a lot of inspiration photos, that ultimately lead to the collection that is now available.

Unicorn floatie on the street in Florence, Italy.

 

Toile inspiration in France hotel.

 

Initial sketch ideas by Michael.

 

It has been an absolute joy to work with the JL team on bringing this concept to life. It think it is a great example of their ability to produce custom designs, even from off the wall ideas like rowing unicorns on toile fabric.

I hope you enjoy this collection as much as I have enjoyed helping bring it to life."

Pride 2024 Pre-Order Store Link

 

 

 

 

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