WHY IS IDENTITY SIGNIFICANT TO THE BRAND?

From a young age Charles Jeffrey was bullied for his gender bending dressing, challenging of fashionable conventions and sexual orientation. And he has since channelled this anger and frustrated energy into numerous collections where he has freely embraced who he is, without the humiliation or judgment.

Whilst studying in university, CSM course director and brutally honest professor, Louise Wilson, encouraged Jeffrey to be himself in his work and to reflect on his personal approaches to styling- a muse I’d call it. I feel this has been a strong trajectory to Charles Jeffrey’s development of LOVERBOY and how he identifies it as a brand to resonate with people who were like his younger self.

Through collections like ‘Tantrum’, Fall 2018, Jeffrey funnelled the ‘growing pains’ of his childhood (Cochrane, 2018) into a theatrical performance of models screaming, crying, howling, and stamping their feet in a repetitive psychotic behaviour (Mower, 2018). I feel this is a beautiful approach to transforming such a negative time into something one is so passionate about now, irradiating a positive light. It truly embarks what Louise Wilson wanted him to do- to be himself and infuse his work with the same vitality.

I can completely resonate with this, in that I am using this module to relieve my past issues and to shine a light on how I used dance and the arts as a form of escapism, and into a contemporary vision so it is no longer a freedom but an opportunity for me to thrive in the industry.