CHARLES JEFFREY

Realising that my personal brand does not conform with others around me, made me realise that I have a preference and admiration for designers who envision the same. The fashion industry can, at times, seem repetitive, and for me authenticity, rawness and newness are necessary today for propelling designers and their brands further into consumer markets. As iterated in my previous module, brands like LOVERBOY often seemed too outlandish for my liking, but when allowing myself the permission to explore, granted me to find a beauty in the unconventional.

Researching into Charles Jeffrey and how he is continuously readjusting fashion norms to suit a consumer wanting more than just clothes, and instead, a community and place of belonging, was enlightening.

I felt this resonated completely with my gap in the market, in that Generation Alpha want a space for their voices to be projected and acknowledged. Their frustrations should be valued, and I believe a brand which accommodates a communal spirit, sense of identity and urge to deconstruct society’s accustomed expectations is needed for this collaborations success and gap to be merged.

Glaswegian fashion designer Charles Jeffrey has developed a brand which subverts traditions of gender, embraces heritage and identity, and provides an escapism from the harsh realities of a corrupt society.

Since graduating from Central Saint Martins, Jeffrey has transformed LOVERBOY into a scene for likeminded individuals who form a neighbourhood, allowing one to be unapologetically themselves.

“It’s a space that allows you to not know what you’re doing, but no one will stop you” (LOVERBOY.com, n.d)- I think this quote massively echoes the latter and how his brand has no boundaries or judgment.

It shows the welcoming for individuals who are confused, whether that be with who they are, what they want to be etc, and presenting them with a gift to be free- a breeding ground for creativity and an evasion from the rest of the world- something I see Generation Alpha wanting in the future.

As I progressed my research, I found my veneration for Charles Jeffrey expanded, particularly from learning of his background.

Jeffrey came from a working class surrounding and found that the fashion domain gave him the same sense of escapism that his brand avidly driveswhich I can completely fathom with because it is where I have found my escapism too.

Instructed by Louise Wilson to make his garments a reflection of what he was wearing and not what others were doing, ultimately informed the trajectory of where LOVERBOY is now, and from learning of this, it made me realise that being non-conformist and wholly yourself in your work is essential.

Infusing his love for club nights, art, music, and history into Avant Garde designs cemented the fundamentals for his brand, where his personality is expressed violently through the clashing of patterns, flamboyant silhouettes, bright colours, and bold shapes, showcasing a playfulness and youthcentred appeal.

What I admire most however, is how his brand evokes an honesty which not many designers can so excellently showlet me use AW21 GLOOM for example.

Delving into his AW21 collection GLOOM, Jeffrey exhibits a reality where there are bad times and not everything is vivid colours and satire. WE. ALL. ARE. HUMAN.

Explaining “I wanted to emphasise the idea that it’s important to feel darkness; it’s important to feel negative emotions and embrace them” demonstrates an authentic nature and truthfulness, something which pushes his brand to be more personal and a facet Generation Alpha will appreciate as it is a form of transparency.

For me, I wanted to home in on this collection and analyse how he presented this form of darkness through clothing and performance. My concept is certainly starting to evolve around Generation Alphas uncertainty and lack of hope for the future, I feel by examining how Charles Jeffrey portrays this level of sadness in his collection will inspire me to present my emotions in a provocative and artful approach too.

In my opinion, there is a distinct disparity between this (AW21) season collection compared to Charles Jeffrey’s previous. His imagery releases a stillness, no eccentric or audacious poses nor harsh, heavy, and bright makeups like we usually affiliate with his style and communication. The models were stripped back and sombre looking, especially in clothing- perfectly executing the mood and dynamic of his theme.

Alleviating the colourful hues and opting for more of a darker scheme with unfinished threads, deconstructed tailoring and draping, the garments curated an oversized droop- for me a representation of a sad face. Hair was backcombed, messy and wild, raising slight nods to punk styles. Their expression was somewhat frightened too, further emphasising Jeffrey’s intentions of it being hard to smile in the face of adversity.

Intending to “create an introspective character who was going into their own psyche” (Jeffrey, n.d) I think is interesting, especially the notion of characters as it maintains his naïve and fantastical side. Jeffrey shown his communal and personal spirit within this collection through evoking an emotion highly relatable to many people.

I adore how he produced the press release in the form of a poem too. This was tactical and accentuated his storytelling further. I am intrigued to see how I could use such strategies to invigorate storytelling in my concept too. I should consider the makeup and styling of this collection for my FMP boards and how Jeffrey subsides his looks to reflect the darker narration too.

Fashion film is an area I will honesty admit scares me, as I don’t feel skilled enough to make one independently. However, I loved watching the GLOOM edition and how the essences of stillness and fear are reciprocated through motion and drama.

I feel the music enhanced this as it gradually built up, becoming more intense throughout. The merging of theatre, dance and movement elevated the depressive feeling and provided an eeriness to the scene. Such elements like the zooming in on the eye, made the film that extra bit riveting too.

Seeing and feeling the effects of this film makes me ponder how I could attempt to do this myself. My university experience is solely focused for experimenting and building on my skill base, so I believe this could be an area to push me out my comfort zone.