Fashion house Charles Jeffrey LOVERBOY unveiled its Fall Winter 2023 Engine Room campaign captured by photographer Quil Lemons, with styling from Ben Schofield. Beauty is work of hair stylist Claire Moore, and makeup artist Terry Barber. Movement direction by Kate Coyne.
The Engine Room is a gloomy underworld filled with toxic vapors, crazy equipment, and convoluted pathways. It serves as a purgatory for Workers, who are responsible for feeding the furnaces that keep the celestial floating metropolis of Ajuka in the sky afloat. Citizenship and a new beginning are offered to those who work hard enough, but the Engine Room becomes a suffocating cage for many. Countless people spend their lives trying to find a way out, frequently falling to insanity in the process.
The LOVERBOY Fall Winter 2023 collection is divided into three sections, each depicting a different aspect of life in Ajuka. First, we meet the Workers, who are dressed in layers of protective clothes and redesigned necessities to represent their harsh and difficult situations. The adornments and trinkets represent the Workers’ inventiveness in the face of misfortune.
The second section introduces us to the Posers, who were originally Workers but have now ascended to Ajuka’s society, dictating fashion trends in luxury boutiques. Their outfits feature slick tailoring, enormous ruffles, and intricate designs, all paired with vicious claw-footed footwear.
Finally, we meet the Snakes, the city’s principal source of rumor and news. Their outfit is inspired by the instruments they use, including tailored tweeds and a star design suggestive of newspaper print. The color scheme transitions from desaturated tones to stark white accents and newsprint embellishments.
The Engine Room collection is heavily influenced by John Byrne’s artistic and literary world, a Scottish artist and dramatist recognized for his bizarre universe of stories and visuals. Byrne’s works frequently highlight working-class lives and the power of creativity. Charles Jeffrey and his team flawlessly integrate Byrne’s universe with Ajuka’s, adding fairisle, tweeds, and creative accents that pay homage to Byrne’s particular personal style. The collection is further enhanced by captivating painted scenes picked from Byrne’s library and placed on numerous pieces, bringing a unique touch to the collection.
