Charles Jeffrey

To extend my research of punk subculture further, I began to explore contemporary designers who took great influence from the movement and have readapted it to suit a consumer today. Glaswegian, Scottish designer and radical creative, Charles Jeffrey was an emerging artist I had acknowledged at the beginning of university. At this time, his designs were somewhat outlandish to me- an area I’d have been afraid to scope into. It is priding to see how my journey has travelled and flipped to boast a bigger confidence for unconventional and conceptual work.

Charles Jeffrey’s designs are rooted within his Scottish heritage- something which is transcended through his collections and has an obvious sentimentality to his vision. As a graduate of Central Saint Martins, Jeffrey soon became a Senior Contributing Fashion Editor for LOVE magazine- a publication recognisable for its highly-visualist editorial imagery and curated his own label Loverboy, an amalgamation of his heritage, punk influences, and cult club night. Described by Sarah Mower of American Vogue as the “upholder of all that is human, creative and cheerful about British Fashion” (Somerset House, 2016) Charles Jeffrey infuses a colourful tension and experimentation to the chaotic and aggressive natures of punk dressing. He communicates the preservation of non-conformity to youths today, demonstrating how fashion can act as voice of identity and unrestricted creativity through runways which are highly performance based and provide an immersive experience. I appreciate this and can understand how designers, like Jeffrey, are readjusting fashion norms to suit a consumer wanting more than just clothes. His work embodies androgynous styles through luxury craftsmanship and tailoring, showing how high fashion isn’t lost through DIY and extravagant approaches to design.

How could traditional brands aiming towards a millennial consumer learn from this? Could their pieces suit a Generation Alpha if they had a supplemented essence of drama or voice? How could they adapt their practices to adhere to a Generation wanting more?