“The world around us is transforming at breakneck speed, and it feels like we are being used as crash test dummies,” read the show notes for Walter Van Beirendonck’s Spring/Summer 2024 collection. The show, titled Dawleetoo, was named after a mythical lost city deep in the jungle, where, according to legend, an explorer from the late 1800s vanished without a trace. In Dawleetoo, Walter constructs a dreamlike world where humans and machines coexist, giving rise to hybrid beings that reflect the evolution of a new society.

Renowned for his ability to transport audiences into fantastical dimensions, Walter uses these surreal settings to prompt reflection on pressing real-world issues. “There are so many issues in the world right now, from wars to financial crashes and an uncertain future. I really wanted to start a conversation about these things,” he explained. His designs may be wrapped in eccentric color and cartoonish form, but beneath them lies critique, and activism.

On the runway, the models were transformed into avatars of this imagined world. Outfits were styled with bold, tech-forward layering: skin-tight performance fabrics were paired with sculptural outerwear, and bodysuits were printed with distorted musculature. Pushing the hybrid human-machine narrative further.

While not seen on the runway, these sweatpants channel the same spirit of otherworldly transformation and adaptation. Featuring alien-like hieroglyphs and a detachable lower shaft, they convert effortlessly into sweatshorts, ready for any expedition into the lost world of Dawleetoo.

Tagged Size S

Measurements:

Length: 104cm

Rise: 41cm

Thighs: 32cm

Knee: 32cm

Opening: 32cm