Welcome to Charles Jeffrey LOVERBOY FW23’s World of Workers, Posers and Snakes – HYPEBEAST
Sun 15 Jan
Scottish, London-based designer Charles Jeffrey has taken his brand international with the debut of Charles Jeffrey LOVERBOY at Milan Fashion Week.
Taking to Milan Fashion Week is just another step in Jeffrey’s trajectory. In 2022, the designer delivered a conceptual Fall/Winter 2022 collection that captured New York’s No Wave scene, and soon followed it up with the continuation of his Fred Perry collaboration. SS23 highlighted the Queer experiences of life, while towards the end of the year, the designer stepped out of his zone with a George Cox footwear collection and a homeware range, all while working behind the scenes to dress the likes of Tilda Swinton for the British Fashion Council’s Fashion Awards 2022.
It is the latter that Charles Jeffrey LOVERBOY hooks onto for FW23. In a collection titled “Engine Room,” the brand references the art of the Scottish artist and playwright John Byrne; graphics that were depicted all over Swinton’s custom ensemble. Explaining this in more detail, the brand says, “The unique combination of stark realism, satire, and surrealist fantasy that permeates John Byrne’s entire body of work constitutes a rich point of reference for Charles Jeffrey’s original concept.”
The concept in question was a theatrical presentation of three parts, all of which fall under the collective title and guise “WELCOME TO THE ENGINE ROOM — A UTOPIA ENGINEERED FOR YOU.” Opening the show was a siren and white light moment hidden in the depths of a steampunk-meets-industrial engine room, which soon became the space for models to descend from.
Out came looks that saw models dirtied and disheveled, holding rattling metal box bags and wearing double-breasted blazers blasted with the phrase “THE SCOTTISH BASIC.” Odes to industrialism — both in the U.K. and in Milan — came as nails printed on a white tank top, leather strap belts, and another model holding a lantern prop to cast a light on his asymmetrical bias cut blazer, it looking as if it was caught in the windy surroundings of olde Britain.
The workers were replaced by LOVERBOY’s “Posers,” a gaggle of insiders known for their killer outfits and deadlier tactics to be seen. From claw footwear to the boldest of intarsia knitwear, glossy patent pants in checkered prints to coats decked in artwork, this was the designer’s moment to be bold and brave.