Loverboy - The Work of Charles Jeffrey
By Hannah Schmidt-Rees
“At college I tried so hard to design the “right way”, doing all this research and complicated pattern-cutting
and it wasn’t working out. Then my tutor said, “You dress better than any of this, just design how you dress. Stop overthinking it.” It was such a relief.’”
Glasgow-born and now London-based club kid Charles Jeffrey is an emerging fashion designer you should know about. His experience; studying at Central Saint Martins, interning at Christian Dior and hosting a weekly club night at the Vogue Fabrics Dalston club; is incredibly apparent in his work for his brand 'Loverboy'. Inspired by the creatives around him - drag queens, artists, musicians and performers - "We wanted to show we're not just club kids. We're creatives and we’re reacting to the space around us."
Infusing the dishevelled and underground aesthetic of 'DIY club kid couture' with the tailoring and craftsmanship of high fashion, Loverboy "speaks to young London the way Alexander McQueen spoke to his generation." (- Business of Fashion Editor Tim Blanks). Jeffrey breaks gender roles by combining them, conveying androgyny like a young kid going crazy in a dress-up box.
New Romanticism, the renaissance, baroque, fine art, the LGBT+ experience, club kids and Jeffrey's Scottish heritage are all combined to create the zeitgeist of Jeffrey's looks. His Fall 2018 show 'Tantrum' referenced 'The Velvet Rage', a book telling the tale of 'a gay man growing up in a decidedly straight man's world'. Channelling his anger and passion into his collection, models walked down the runway in artfully tailored garments and elaborate makeup. Tailored suit jackets were paired with pleated skirts, tartan-covered three piece suits referencing Jeffrey's Scottish heritage, baroque-influenced ruffles cinched with over-the-top belts, traditional trench coats ripped and reinvented.
“I think it is important to utilise pent-up emotions to help stimulate the creative process.”
Discovered by Lulu Kennedy in 2015, Loverboy was selected to be shown as part of Topman's and Fashion East's MAN Initiative for London Fashion Week S/S 2016. Showing for his third year, Jeffrey's career is showing no signs of slowing down. Nominated for the LVMH Prize, hosting a solo art exhibition at London's NOW Gallery and winning the British Emerging Talent Award at the Fashion Awards in 2017, Jeffrey's incorporation of unrestricted youthful creativity and mature tailoring has been well received.
Much like the work of Thierry Mugler and Alexander McQueen, every Loverboy show incorporates fine art, sculpture and performance art. Both of Jeffrey's 2018 runways heavily used performance art to create a show that is unforgettable. For his 'Tantrum' collection, 8 performance artists reflect the anger of being bullied for being gay and the mockery of mixed critics. Sitting in the middle of the catwalk, the performers swore at looks they hated and lusted over looks they liked. Watch it below:
“(While interning at Dior) He made friends with the “lovely ladies upstairs” in the ateliers, “I was more interested in stapling stuff together. Once, I gave them a sample that was all taped. ‘Do you remember it’s Dior, Charles?’ Paris was not amused.”
Charles Jeffrey is the perfect meeting point between Vivienne Westwood, Gareth Pugh and Alexander McQueen, but with a modern twist. His reference to the aesthetic and experiences of London's LGBT+ underground club scene and its infusion with traditional Edwardian menswear silhouettes and tailoring allows for a creative and underground take on British fashion. It's no surprise that Loverboy is based in London, London is home to Leigh Bowery, The Blitz Kids and the punk movement after all.
Charles Jeffrey was one of the first designers that helped me fall in love with fashion. His incorporation of art, queer culture, the underground club scene and high end tailoring helped me see that fashion was more than just the high end brands producing the same styles over and over again. Taking in my own experience, the best fashion influences are from everyday people; the people around us. The people who simply don't give a damn, who wear whatever creative garments they want (ie. The person I aspire to become); are the people that need to inspire fashion. And Loverboy is a perfect example of this, the crossroads between the fashion of society and the fashion of the runway.
Whilst Jeffrey is slowly moving away from his club kid origins, his exploration of androgyny and the relationship between art and high fashion is still evident. If you’re interested in the club kid scene, traditional British fashion, or just wanna discover another amazing young LGBT+ fashion designer, I strongly encourage you to explore the work of Charles Jeffrey’s Loverboy. It's so good.