Charles Jeffrey (fashion designer)

Last updated

Jeffrey in May 2019 Charles Jeffrey (Fashion Designer).jpg
Jeffrey in May 2019

Charles Jeffrey (born August 1, 1990) is a Scottish fashion designer known for his punk-inspired, gender-fluid designs influenced by his Scottish heritage and London's queer club scene. Jeffrey has been described as "speaking to young London the way Alexander McQueen spoke to his generation," [1] and by Vogue as "the upholder of all that is human, creative and cheerful about British fashion." [2] Jeffrey launched his label Charles Jeffrey LOVERBOY in 2015, after graduating from Central St Martins. He has been nominated for and won numerous industry awards. [3] Charles Jeffrey LOVERBOY has been worn by figures as wide-ranging as Harry Styles, [4] Tilda Swinton, [5] Bimini Bon Boulash, [6] and K-pop star J-Hope of BTS. [7]

Contents

Early life and education

Jeffrey was born in Bellshill, North Lanarkshire. As a child he moved around a lot, due to his father being in the British Army, living in Germany, England and Wales. [8] He spent his teenage years back in Scotland in Cumbernauld. Jeffrey drew from a young age, and became interested in fashion as a teenager. At eighteen, he moved to London. [8]

Jeffrey studied for an Art Foundation BA and an MA in Fashion at Central St Martins, where he was tutored by Louise Wilson, who had also tutored Christopher Kane and Alexander McQueen. [9] As a student, Jeffrey interned for four months at Dior's haute couture ateliers in Paris. [8] Jeffrey's graduation show at Central St Martins in 2015 attracted the attention of Fashion East Director Lulu Kennedy. He was also named as one of the "3 designers to watch" out of that year's graduates by Vogue, with his collection described as "an exciting new amalgamation of pop and provocation". [10] It was also during his MA at Central St Martins that Charles Jeffrey developed the LOVERBOY label, which emerged from a monthly club night of the same name that Jeffrey began at Vogue Fabrics in Dalston. [11] [12]

Career

Having caught the attention of Lulu Kennedy at his graduation show in February 2015, Charles Jeffrey's work was showcased in a presentation at the Institute of Contemporary Arts as part of Fashion East's and Topman's joint talent platform MAN, at London Collections: Men (now London Fashion Week Men's) in June 2015. [13] Jeffrey said the platform changed his life: “Had Lulu [Kennedy, Fashion East founder] and Natasha [Booth] not encouraged me to be braver, smarter, and taught me so much of what I now know, my label wouldn't exist." [14] Jeffrey would continue to show as part of Fashion East and Topman's MAN for three seasons, until his first solo show in June 2017. [14] In 2016, Charles Jeffrey was included on the Business of Fashion 500 list as one of the most influential people in fashion. [15] Jeffrey's shows for LOVERBOY have gained a reputation for being theatrical performances as well as fashion shows, often working with theatre and dance professionals. [16] His "Tantrum" show in 2017, working with director Theo Adams, was described as "one of those shows that will be talked about for years." [17]

In November 2017, Charles Jeffrey's first solo exhibition, THE COME UP, opened at the NOW Gallery in Greenwich. [18] Incorporating Jeffrey's "emotive and vibrant illustrations" with "large sculptural pieces hang[ing] from the gallery's seven-meter ceiling," the installation was "an interactive and three-dimensional representation of the Charles Jeffrey LOVERBOY brand and cult club night." [18] Jeffrey has contributed as editor and creative director to several editions of LOVE Magazine, including a Maison Margiela retrospective shoot (in collaboration with John Galliano), and as Creative Director of a Vivienne Westwood archive story for Another Man. [1] In December 2017, Jeffrey won the British Fashion Award's Emerging Talent: Menswear Award. [19]

In 2018, Charles Jeffrey LOVERBOY launched its first womenswear capsule collection, Awrite Hen? exclusively for Matches Fashion. ""The women in my life have been wearing our collections since the beginning but it's been a thrill to develop these pieces specifically with a woman in mind," Jeffrey commented. [20] In October 2018, Jeffrey won the GQ Man of the Year Award for Breakthrough Designer.

With the COVID-19 pandemic forcing London Fashion Week to hold its first digital fashion week in 2020, Jeffrey used the occasion to raise money for UK Black Pride, in light of rising consciousness around the Black Lives Matter movement. Jeffrey held a live-streamed fundraiser from the basement of Vogue Fabrics, where the LOVERBOY club nights began, spotlighting Black artists, performers, and fashion designers from his extended queer community. Jeffrey said of his decision, "Loverboy's always been a happening, a place where people club together to do something great...I thought if I could do it then, I can do it now.” [21]

In 2021, the Theatre Royal Drury Lane owners, Andrew and Madeleine Lloyd Webber, commissioned Jeffrey to redesign the uniforms of its hospitality staff, known as the Red Coats. Of Jeffrey's new designs, Madeleine Lloyd Webber remarked, "“As we undertook the enormous project of reimagining Theatre Royal Drury Lane, we knew we wanted to redesign our iconic Red Coats. Charles’ singular perspective, inspired creativity and incredible ethos made this an easy choice. I was particularly inspired by how Charles’ designs seemed to reflect and pay tribute to the magnificent architecture of Theatre Royal Drury Lane, which we have painstakingly restored to its former glory.” [22]

Collections

Charles Jeffrey's first solo show for his LOVERBOY label was in June 2017, and he has presented collections twice yearly since. [23]

Awards

Influences and collaborators

Jeffrey credits the club night LOVERBOY at Vogue Fabrics in London's East End - started by Jeffrey in 2014 to help fund his MA - for helping to form his label's aesthetic: “the clothes were made in that club space, and I learned a lot about being a queer person through being there.” [40] [11] Jeffrey has described the club nights as a “no-rules nocturnal laboratory,” inspired by 1980s clubs like Blitz and Taboo, and legendary queer performers such as Leigh Bowery and Boy George. [40]

Jeffrey's collections reflect his Scottish heritage, including kilts, tartan, and references to Scottish traditions. [9] In 2017, Jeffrey designed a signature LOVERBOY tartan, debuting it as part of his Autumn/Winter 2018 collection, "Tantrum." [41] LOVERBOY'S Autumn/Winter 2020 Collection, "Hell Mend You" was partially inspired by the intricate costumes worn for the Festival of the Horse, on the Orkney Island of South Ronaldsay. [42]

Jeffrey has many regular collaborators, including make-up artist Lucy Bridge, [43] visual artist and theatre director Theo Adams, set designer Gary Card, [44] musician Tom Furse, and photographers Tim Walker [45] and Thurstan Redding. [46] Sarah Mower of Vogue notes how "the ‘we’ and the ‘our’ is the collective point about the Loverboy phenomenon. Jeffrey is...a ringmaster and pied piper of many who have formed a movement sprung straight out of the British art school tradition." [2]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alexander McQueen</span> British fashion designer (1969–2010)

Lee Alexander McQueen was a British fashion designer and couturier. He founded his own Alexander McQueen label in 1992, and was chief designer at Givenchy from 1996 to 2001. His achievements in fashion earned him four British Designer of the Year awards, as well as the CFDA's International Designer of the Year award in 2003. McQueen died by suicide in 2010 at the age of 40, at his home in Mayfair, London, shortly after the death of his mother.

Kim Niklas Jones is an English fashion designer. He is a graduate of Central St Martins College of Art and Design.

Rochas is a fashion, beauty, and perfume house founded in 1925 by French designer Marcel Rochas, the first designer of 2/3-length coats and skirts with pockets and one of the two designers, along with Elsa Schiaparelli, who launched the fashion for padded shoulders in 1931. Rochas had been known primarily for its signature perfume, "Femme," which was packaged in a pink box with black lace.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gareth Pugh</span> English fashion designer

Gareth Pugh is an English fashion designer based in London. He is known for his unconventional use of volume and form when designing outfits, and his work is described as performance art. He achieved prominence in the Kashpoint's Autumn 2005 Alternative Fashion Week group show, and he made his solo premiere in London's Fall 2006 fashion week. Due to his focus on experimental fashion, Pugh has had limited success selling wearable clothes. Instead, his projects are funded through patronage by Rick Owens and Michèle Lamy. His designs have been sported by notable performers, including Kylie Minogue, Beyoncé, and Lady Gaga.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christopher Kane</span> Scottish fashion designer

Christopher John Kane is a Scottish fashion designer based in London.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Giles Deacon</span> British fashion designer

Giles Deacon is a British fashion designer, Creative Director and Founder of Giles Deacon group, a fashion enterprise. Deacon joined the Paris Fashion Week in 2016. Deacon has been known to challenge the traditional ideas of womenswear and often uses wild prints and pop culture references in his designs. Deacon was employed by the fashion houses Bottega Veneta and Gucci, before founding his own label, GILES, in 2003. He launched his first collection for GILES at the 2004 London Fashion Week and was named "Best New Designer" at the British Fashion Awards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charlie Casely-Hayford</span> British fashion designer

Charlie Casely-Hayford is a menswear designer based in London, England, where he was born. He founded the international menswear brand Casely-Hayford at the age of 22 with his father, the acclaimed British fashion designer Joe Casely-Hayford OBE.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christopher Raeburn (designer)</span> British fashion designer (born 1982)

Christopher Raeburn (born 13 August 1982) is a British fashion designer, known for reworking surplus fabrics and garments to create menswear, womenswear and accessories.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richard James (tailor)</span>

Richard James is a bespoke Savile Row tailors and contemporary menswear company. It was founded in 1992 by designer Richard James, a graduate of Brighton College of Art and a former buyer for the London boutique Browns, and his business partner Sean Dixon. The Design and Brand Director is Toby Lamb, a graduate of Central Saint Martins. Richard James has won both the British Fashion Council's Menswear Designer of the Year and Bespoke Designer of the Year awards.

Christopher Shannon is an English fashion designer specialising in menswear.

Fashion East is a non-profit designer support and showcasing scheme, a project established by the Old Truman Brewery and Lulu Kennedy MBE in 2000. Designers can apply for support across three different programmes. Each programme offers fashion week showcasing opportunities, business mentoring & financial sponsorship for menswear and womenswear designers. Designers are selected by Lulu Kennedy and a panel of industry people.

Alessandro Michele is an Italian fashion designer who most recently served as the creative director of Gucci, the Italian fashion luxury house where he had been working since 2002. Known for his maximalist designs, Alessandro Michele revived Gucci's popularity, most notably with a Geek-Chic aesthetic. He had been responsible for all of Gucci's collections and global brand image from January 2015 until he stepped down from the role in November 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scottish Fashion Awards</span>

The Scottish Fashion Awards was an annual awards ceremony honouring Scottish designers, photographers, models and fashion industry leaders. Founded in 2006, the event organiser was Tessa Hartmann, owner of a Scottish-based PR firm to promote her clients and their friends. Their mission is "...to provide an outstanding platform for Scottish creatives, from designers and photographers, to models, fashion communicators and industry leaders."

Craig Green is a British fashion designer specialising in menswear.

VETEMENTS started in 2014 as a Swiss luxury fashion house and "design collective" founded by Georgian fashion designers Demna Gvasalia and Guram Gvasalia. The brand experienced near-immediate success, with Demna being hired to Balenciaga after only three collections at Vetements.

Hood By Air is a fashion and streetwear brand based in New York City co-founded by designers Shayne Oliver and Raul Lopez. It was launched in 2006 and took a hiatus 2017–2019. Oliver left the brand in 2023.

Lou Dalton is an English menswear fashion designer based in London. She has launched her own brand and collaborated with other fashion lines.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grace Wales Bonner</span> English fashion designer (born 1990)

Grace Wales Bonner is an English fashion designer, whose work "proposes a distinct notion of cultural luxury that infuses European heritage with an Afro Atlantic spirit". Her designs are characterized by a blend of sportswear and tailoring, as well as her interest in infusing everyday wardrobe essentials with a refined elegance. In 2014, she founded the London-based label Wales Bonner, originally specializing in menswear.

Paul Surridge is a British fashion designer and art director.

Harry Lambert is a British editorial and celebrity fashion stylist. He is best known for his work styling musician Harry Styles, actors Emma Corrin,Josh O'Connor and Eddie Redmayne and football player Dominic Calvert-Lewin.

References

  1. 1 2 BoF 500, Charles Jeffrey
  2. 1 2 Sarah Mower, Vogue, Charles Jeffrey Loverboy Spring 2018
  3. ↑ London Fashion Week, Charles Jeffrey LOVERBOY
  4. ↑ Douglas Greenwood, i-D, a guide to Harry Styles' fashion evolution
  5. ↑ Jeremy O Harris, Vogue, Playful, Fantastical, Rare: At Home With Tilda Swinton On Her Highlands Estate 14 February 2021
  6. ↑ "Bimini is solidifying their status as one of the most legendary British drag entertainers of all time" Gay Times, Honours Issue, December 2021.
  7. ↑ BTS J-Hope Showed Up At Incheon Airport In A Street-Casual Outfit August 7, 2022
  8. 1 2 3 Emma Brown, Interview Magazine The Menswear Designer Dec 9, 2015
  9. 1 2 Lauren Cochrane, Guardian, Charles Jeffrey and the designers transforming fashion for a post-gender world January 10, 2018
  10. ↑ Nick Remsen, Vogue, 3 Designers to Watch from Central Saint Martins’ 2015 Graduates February 21, 2015
  11. 1 2 Emma Hope Allwood, Dazed, Meet the ringleader of London's next-generation club kids June 15, 2015
  12. ↑ Vogue Fabrics Dalston
  13. ↑ British Fashion Council Fashion East supports Grace Wales Bonner and Charles Jeffrey at LCM
  14. 1 2 Lauretta Roberts, TheIndustry.fashion Fashion East and TOPMAN reveal line-up for MAN SS18 26 May 2017
  15. ↑ Sarah Young, Independent, THE MOST INFLUENTIAL PEOPLE IN FASHION REVEALED – ZAYN MALIK AND CHARLES JEFFREY MAKE THE CUT FOR THE FIRST TIME 4 October 2016
  16. 1 2 Osman Ahmed, i-D, LOVERBOY SS21 brings the vibrancy of queer London nightlife to you 22 October 2020
  17. ↑ Theo Adams Tantrum: Loverboy - AW18
  18. 1 2 Ella Alexander, Harper's Bazaar, Fashion Awards 2017: The winners December 4, 2017
  19. ↑ Lauretta Roberts, TheIndustry.fashion, Charles Jeffrey-Loverboy creates exclusive womenswear collection for Matchesfashion.com 6 February 2018
  20. ↑ Sarah Mower, Vogue, Charles Jeffrey's London Fashion Week Livestream Raises Money for UK Black Pride June 14, 2020
  21. ↑ Teo van der Broeke GQ, Charles Jeffrey has redesigned the Theatre Royal Drury Lane's uniforms and they're brilliantly bonkers 29 July 2021
  22. ↑ Vogue, All Charles Jeffrey LOVERBOY Collections
  23. ↑ SHOWstudio Charles Jeffrey LOVERBOY ENters An Industrial Dystopia 3 August 2023
  24. ↑ Hypebae Charles Jeffrey LOVERBOY‘s Spring/Summer 2023 “PHWOARRR!” collection celebrates queerness in all of its glory 22 February 2023
  25. ↑ Culted,The Art of Noise: Charles Jeffrey is Ripping Up The Rule Book
  26. ↑ Dazed, Your rolling guide to the must-see shows at London Fashion Week 22 September 2021
  27. ↑ Sarah Mower, Vogue, Charles Jeffrey Loverboy Fall 2021 Ready-to-Wear March 29, 2021
  28. ↑ Osman Ahmed, i-D, Charles Jeffrey goes primeval for AW20 6 January 2020
  29. ↑ Dal Chodha, Wallpaper, Charles Jeffrey LOVERBOY S/S 2020 London Fashion Week Men's
  30. ↑ Matthew Whitehouse, i-D Tim Walker captures Charles Jeffrey at a career turning point Jun 7, 2019
  31. ↑ Sarah Mower, Vogue, Charles Jeffrey Loverboy Spring 2019 Menswear 11 June 2018
  32. ↑ Sarah Mower, Vogue, Charles Jeffrey Loverboy Fall 2018 Menswear 7 Jan, 2018
  33. ↑ Show Studio "Tantrum" video Tantrum Charles Jeffrey AW18
  34. ↑ Wonderland Magazine, LFWM: CHARLES JEFFREY LOVERBOY SS18 June 10, 2017
  35. ↑ Zac Maoui, GQ, Charles Jeffrey: ‘Loverboy allows you to not know what you're doing’ 16 October 2018
  36. ↑ Abigail Southan, The Last Magazine, THE 2018 LVMH PRIZE: CHARLES JEFFREY LOVERBOY May 23, 2018
  37. ↑ BBC "Scottish Fashion Awards Winners Announced" 21 October 2016
  38. ↑ Danielle Wightman-Stone, fashionunited.uk, Scottish Fashion Awards names 2015 winners 4 September 2015
  39. 1 2 Emma Elwick-Bates, W Magazine, Fashion Designer Charles Jeffrey Credits Clubbing With His Success 5 October 2018
  40. ↑ The Scottish Register of Tartans Tartan Details:Loverboy
  41. ↑ Huw Williams, BBC, South Ronaldsay's 'amazing' horse costumes inspire catwalk collection 16 January 2020
  42. ↑ Christina Kapourtzoudi, SHOWStudio LUCY BRIDGE ON THE POWER OF MAKE-UP ON THE CATWALK April 1, 2020
  43. ↑ Osman Ahmed, New York Times The Artist Making Otherworldly Sets for London's Emerging Designers June 14, 2018
  44. ↑ TJ Sidhu, The Face, Charles Jeffrey's got The Healing power 21 October 2020
  45. ↑ LOVE Magazine, THURSTAN REDDING CAPTURES CHARLES JEFFREY’S LOVERBOY BACKSTAGE FOR MEN’S SS20 12 June 2019
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.