Charles Jeffrey LOVERBOY A/W 2019 London Fashion Week Mens

Mood board: The daring of Cecil Beaton’s Bright Young Things met millennial mettle. Influences for the season were drawn from a 1923 first-edition copy of J.M Barrie’s The Story of Peter Pan and its gang of lost boys not quite sure of what, or who they are. The season looked to story-telling, travelling back in time to a magical, rugged wonderland far from the gloom of reality. Naysayers to Jeffrey’s playful extravagance will find a lot to wear here. The label’s signature tartan was cut into neat, smart three-button suits and generous mohair coats with hand-stitched chain seams. Kilt pleats subtly revealed themselves from the vents of trench-coats; cargo pants had a strip of embroidered silk chiffon trailing from the waist.
Scene setting: Between 2000-2013, the immense Hydraulic Power Station in Wapping was the pioneering arts and performance space in London, hosting a number of important exhibitions, a fine restaurant and a small bookshop housed inside a greenhouse. Until Jeffrey filled it with the merriment of his latest and greatest collection to date, it has stood empty for six years. Guests entered the Victorian brick building to clusters of dancers, each performing on top of the original factory machinery, channeling the spirit of the season – a broken Narnia. Inside the show space, set designer Simon Costin created a scene filled with derelict decadence; a roll-top bath full of the yellowing pages of old books; a pile of limp mattresses thrown on the floor. Antique coat stands had been turned into fanciful vanity trees, studded with round mirrors and rotten lipsticks. Outside, a perambulator spat flames.
Team work: The performance was directed by long-standing collaborator Theo Adams and choreographed by Jordan Robson. With their frothy, infectious revelry, Jeffrey’s shows seize on the spirit and verve of 1990s London, a time when the city seemed like the centre of fashion. A time of pushing back against norms. An unbuttoning of uniforms. A shifting of politics. Jeffrey’s approach has always been collaborative – there is strength a numbers after all. A hand-drawn sign taped to a steel door read ‘Tim Walker Studio’. And a new generation of London’s bright young things starred in the show. Milliner Leo Carlton, Central Saint Martins MA Fashion student Matthew Needham and jeweller Luke V Smith each performed on their own whimsical spots, as the models powered through Jeffrey’s extravagant, exquisite never-never land.
Charles Jeffrey LOVERBOY A/W 2019. Photography: Jason Lloyd-Evans
Charles Jeffrey LOVERBOY A/W 2019. Photography: Jason Lloyd-Evans
Charles Jeffrey LOVERBOY A/W 2019. Photography: Jason Lloyd-Evans
Charles Jeffrey LOVERBOY A/W 2019. Photography: Jason Lloyd-Evans
London based writer Dal Chodha is editor-in-chief of Archivist Addendum — a publishing project that explores the gap between fashion editorial and academe. He writes for various international titles and journals on fashion, art and culture and is a contributing editor at Wallpaper*. Chodha has been working in academic institutions for more than a decade and is Stage 1 Leader of the BA Fashion Communication and Promotion course at Central Saint Martins. In 2020 he published his first book SHOW NOTES, an original hybrid of journalism, poetry and provocation.
-
Last chance to see: Sharjah Biennial 15, ‘Thinking Historically in the Present’
Built on the vision of late curator Okwui Enwezor, the Sharjah Biennial 15: ‘Thinking Historically in the Present’ offers a critical reframing of postcolonial narratives through major new commissions
By Amah-Rose Abrams • Published
-
For London Gallery Weekend 2023, the mood is hardcore
With London Gallery Weekend 2023 almost upon us (2 – 4 June), here’s our list of must-see art exhibitions
By Harriet Lloyd-Smith • Published
-
Birkenstock celebrates its most memorable styles with colourful capsule (and matching socks)
Birkenstock marks the 40th, 50th and 60th anniversaries of the Gizeh, Arizona and Madrid sandals, respectively, with limited-edition versions
By Jack Moss • Published
-
Margaret Howell London Fashion Week Women's S/S 2019
By Dal Chodha • Published
-
London Fashion Week S/S 2023: Ahluwalia to Martine Rose
Though slimmed-down, London Fashion Week nonetheless provided the moments of creative expression the city is known for – from Ahluwalia’s ode to Africa to Martine Rose’s much-anticipated runway return
By Jack Moss • Last updated
-
Discover these fashion brands at London Craft Week
During London Craft Week, fashion brands including Smythson, Bally and Serapian are hosting events across the capital
By Hannah Silver • Last updated
-
Nicholas Daley's multicultural roots celebrated in London
By Laura Hawkins • Last updated
-
V&A spotlights the sartorial and social significance of the kimono
For the latest endeavour of London's Victoria and Albert Museum, Kimono: Kyoto to Catwalk explores the evolution of the iconic Japanese garment
By Grace Cook • Last updated
-
Erdem A/W 2020 London Fashion Week Women's
By Laura Hawkins • Last updated
-
Christopher Kane A/W 2020 London Fashion Week Women's
By Laura Hawkins • Last updated
-
Burberry A/W 2020 London Fashion Week Women's
By Laura Hawkins • Last updated