Charles Jeffrey LOVERBOY presented his Autumn Winter 2018 collection during the ongoing London Fashion Week Men’s.
AUTUMN WINTER 2018 RUNWAYS
A vital part of Tantrum’s narrative centres on the myth of gay pride and confidence, with all its pecockery and aggressive flamboyance. Integral to it is Alan Downs’ ‘The Velvet Rage: Overcoming the Pain of Growing Up Gay in a Straight Man’s World’ (2005) which addresses the sense of invalidation around heteronormative societal pressures on gay men, which after three decades of post-Aids concentration on gay men’s physical health, turns inward to their mental wellbeing. The loud, louche exterior becomes a shield to stand behind, and an existential quest for validation somacitises itself in hard-edged glamour and hardcore hedonism. The burden is literal, and the sense of swimming upstream is combined with a distinct Scottish stubbornness. Menacing silhouettes, loud and large, are akin to animalistic gestures to protect oneself from predators. The extremity — and the elegance — of Charles James’ and Christian Dior’s wasp-y couture reflect a gilded constriction, actively uncomfortable yet intrinsically uncompromising. At its core, though, there’s a distinct Caledonian sensibility. Illustrative jerseys cling to the skin, evoking naked Pictish body adornment. Wallace tartans are combined with LOVERBOY’s own tartan; a transcendental bridge between ancient and contemporary. Kilts are reconfigured with a DIY rigour. Apotropaic iconography is utilised as energy-affirming totemic motifs, representing words such as ‘Truth’, ‘Love’, ‘Energy’, ‘Power’, ‘Male’ and ‘Female’. Everyday basics seen on the streets of Glasgow are imbued with more than a wee bit of flirtatious verve. – from Charles Jeffrey LOVERBOY
See the backstage imagery here.
Discover more of the collection after the jump:
