Charles Jeffrey Loverboy spring/summer 2018 collection catwalk show for LFWM

Newgen Charles Jeffrey presents the new Lovreboy 2018 collection at the BFC Show Space for London Fashion Week Men’s. Jeffrey’s love of tailoring – his previous outing showcased pieces made on Savile Row – permeates the line-up, which encourages the classic, the twisted and the out-of-control to coexist in harmony.

A found black-and-white photograph has inspired this season’s signature “drunk” tailoring, which recreates the effect of being slumped in a buttoned-up jacket. A cord “nervous” jacket gives the effect of the scrunched and puckered through its meticulous darting. Shirts have French cuffs, designed to be rolled and bunched without cufflinks. These clothes have mannerism and behaviour built in.

Jeffrey is making a strong case for his own proportions, too. The key silhouette features broader shoulders, bell sleeves and is cropped with a high waist. Winning Graduate of the Year at 2015’s Scottish Fashion Awards, there are nods to his Scottish roots in the collection, with cashmere from Begg & Co and his signature Aran knits, disrupted with electric-tape artwork.

Jeffrey’s iconoclastic jeans are cut from huge abstract paintings and linings in  the collection are printed, so there is as much energy on the inside. Collaboration is a strong part of the Loverboy ethos and one-of-a-kind accessories have been created by Jack Appleyard, using found/taken materials. A series of showstopping work-of-art bags are joined by run-over tiara chokers and culled video tape (the VHS sacrificed was Angela’s Ashes).

Set designer Gary Card has worked with Jeffrey to create a huge, moving environment of Loverboy totems such as the firefox, hand and face, contributing to the sense of performance.

Photos: Chris Yates