CHARLES JEFFREY
LOVERBOY SS25
10 is a visual and material milestone in LOVERBOY’s history, a meditation on the enduring themes and temporalities that shape our universe. Departing from our previous narrative-driven approach, 10 has found its form through an exploration of ‘queer time’ – the idea that queerness shapes not only our sense and understandings of gender and sexuality, but also our experiences of time itself and our relations to past, present and future.
Our design process was led by consideration of the ways that clock-time shapes social life and thus becomes tied to expectation and notions of respectability. Nods towards nightwear and undergarments jostle against references to formality and outerwear, in a muddling of sartorial codes of labour and leisure, public and private. Through drape and deconstruction we’ve sought to cultivate a sense of becoming and undoing, evoking clothing pulled hurriedly around the body and the gradual unravelling of a look over the course of a day.Ringed eyes and tousled hair hint further at the realm of slumber, refracted through a distinctly post-punk sensibility.
This rumination on liminality, precarity and flux extends through the show’s accompanying soundscape. Produced in collaboration with composer Luca Manning and performed by Somerset House Studios choir, the piece draws on personal experiences of queerness and transition, augmented by an improvisatory process that explores the potential of voice as both instrument and sonic texture.
10 marks our return to London, the city that birthed our brand, and a wider celebration of our first decade hosted by Somerset House, home to our studio since 2016. It coincides with the opening of our first exhibition, The Lore of LOVERBOY, and is moulded by a broader reflection on our distinctly British approach to style. We continue to offer puckish takes on traditionally masculine conservative signifiers, this time from spheres of military and gamekeeping, looking to upend and question the enduring status of these symbols. The collection also nods towards our own history and hero garments through new ‘animal familiar’ takes on the iconic ears beanie and our Warholian banana motif rendered oversized and overripe in black velvet. Through our partnership with The World of Clash, we’ve been led back to SS18’s piercing arrows, this time less apfelschuss and more Saint Sebastian and a reimagining of the wedding dress finale inspired by the mobile gaming franchise’s character, P.E.K.K.A.
“Charles Jeffrey was one of the first creatives to join Somerset House Studios when it was established in 2016, and so all these years later, it is an honour to present this body of work as the exhibition The Lore of LOVERBOY at Somerset House. LOVERBOY has quickly become a brand celebrated for its rebellious energy and fierce originality, and I’m delighted that the exhibition will launch with the unveiling of the SS25 collection. Charles has exceptional talent as a designer, artist, and creative director, and visitors will soon become enamoured with his imaginative and playful style.” Dr Cliff Lauson, Director of Exhibitions at Somerset House.
CREDITS:
Creative Director: Charles Jeffrey
Stylist: Katie Grand
Casting: Anita Bitton
Hair: Sam Elliot for @TONI&GUY
Make up: Terry Barber for @MACcosmetics
Movement Director: Katya Bourvis
Production: OBO Global
Press: Purple PR
Film: Thomas de Cruz Media
Runway soundtrack: Luca Manning in collaboration with Charles Jeffrey LOVERBOY, Mastered by: Nick Ryan
Choir: Amanda Butterworth, Moritz Profanter, Jess Ivankovic, Sam Drew-Jones, Luca Manning, Mathilda Taylor, Alannah Chance, Catherine Pockson, Essa Saulat, Yvonne Zhang, Nick Ryan.
Trainers by: Converse
Footwear by: Gina Shoes
All banana boots and claw shoes by: Charles Jeffrey LOVERBOY
Team: Naomi Ingleby, Diani Diaz, Daniel Rozsahegyi, Emma Istvánffy, Sophia Cook Browne, Christopher Goodman, Raquel Maillo, Charlie Hughes, Moira Gonzalez, Haris Abassi, Caoimhe Kelly, Nataliya Brady.
Assistants: Ella Newey, Sannica Wong, Alix Brim, Eden Cox, Lily Loat, James Rowland, Amelia Colley, Roxy Wittrick, Felicia Cherry, Mia Min.
