LOVERBOY's London Runway Was a Madcap Party We're Yearning For an Invite To

Designer Charles Jeffrey debuted the new Charles Jeffrey LOVERBOY Spring 2025 menswear collection in London this week on June 8, 2024 at the Somerset House, where the brand has had its studio since 2016. For the growing brand’s ten year celebration and the synonymous “10” runway, LOVERBOY brought their party to the courtyard with palpable high energy, unbridled joy, and a cheeky sense of British humor meets youthful queer playfulness. 

Jeffrey weds iconic British elements such as sculpted male statues, posh argyle, scalloped hems, frog tie closures, pinstriping, nightcaps and more to boyishly vibrant silhouettes including poplin boxer shorts, oversized knits, animal eared caps, fur loafers with silver claws, bright bows, breakfast and hand drawn graphics, cheeky lipstick kiss marks, and the iconic slouched beanies the brand has cemented as a young London grunge crowd staple. 

“10” is a visual and material milestone in LOVERBOY’s history, a meditation on the enduring themes and temporalities that shape our universe. Departing from the brand’s previous narrative-driven approach, the Spring 2025 collection has found its form through an exploration of ‘queer time’ - the idea that queerness shapes not only our sense and understandings of gender and sexuality, but also each of our experiences of time itself and our relations to past, present and future. LOVERBOY’s design process for the new collection was led by consideration of the ways that clock-time shapes social life and thus becomes tied to expectation and notions of respectability. 

Charles Jeffrey LOVERBOY successfully hits the elusive target that so many brands aim for yet fall short of: creating an exuberant and identifiable world for the consumer. The LOVERBOY escapism comes in the form of unexpectedly playful knits, caps with animal ears, and designs that don’t take themselves too seriously. Jeffrey looks to “remind people to dream, and to go back into that kind of alternative reality” from before the pandemic, pressures of the status quo, and growing up into adulthood. The young 33-year-old designer moulds his own joyful personality into a capsule for the wearer — standout pieces from the show such as chaotically ruched cotton pinstripe skirts, suit jackets set askew, cheeky graphic tees with breakfast and face icons, banana boots, and a new take on boxer shorts bring desperately needed fresh air to a wardrobe yet feel keenly approachable.

Of course, no look will be complete without including one of Charles Jeffrey LOVERBOY’s signature toppers — choose your own character to face the day ahead with an oversized baker boy cap, a cat- or rabbit-eared beanie, tilted paper crown, or paper sailboat hat. For those of us who would quite frankly rather be back in bed, Jeffrey has also kindly included a playful long knit striped nightcap in his menu of LOVERBOY looks to make a statement.

The extraordinarily crafted world of Charles Jeffrey LOVERBOY luxury streetwear continues to grow beyond London to inspire us with its multifaceted design story, and we personally are all in with a one-way ticket into his alternate universe of fanciful dressing for all. 

LOVERBOY is a creative force springing forth from the mind of Scottish Creative Director and Designer, Charles Jeffrey. Based in London – in the catacombs of historic Somerset House, to be exact – LOVERBOY continues to build on its stellar start in the fashion industry, taking on new challenges and reaching new customers year on year.

From humble beginnings in Charles’ East London bedroom, LOVERBOY is now an international fashion powerhouse, carried in over 90 stores across the world, and employing a team of ten full-time staff.

Drawn to the inherent magic in queerness, Charles and his collaborators create fashion dreamscapes, adding new layers to the brand’s story with each passing season. Together they weave the folkloric thread of Scottish history into the rich tapestry of London’s queer nightlife and music scenes.

A radical sensibility informs all of LOVERBOY’s output, and the brand is proudly committed to making clothes that can be worn by anyone, in any conceivable way. With LOVERBOY entering its eighth year, Charles and his team of fashion visionaries are taking this approach to new heights, drawing inspiration from art, music and unconventional sources of queer joy.

Renewed connection to nature, the body and notions of queer wellness are all key creative stimuli in LOVERBOY’s current future-facing phase. The brand will also continue to renew its focus on collaboration through partnerships with artists in residence who act as contributors to the design process. The brand has also just opened its first exhibition, ‘The Lore of LOVERBOY.’ 

You can find more about Charles Jeffrey and the Charles Jeffrey LOVERBOY brand online at https://charlesjeffreyloverboy.com/en-us. 

CREDITS

Creative Director: Charles Jeffrey @CharlesJeffreyLOVERBOY

Stylist: Katie Grand

Casting: Anita Bitton

Hair: Sam Elliot for @TONI&GUY

Make up: Terry Barber for @MACcosmetics

Movement Director: Katya Bourvis

Production: OBO Global

PR: Purple PR @PurplePR

Film: Thomas de Cruz Media

Runway soundtrack:  Luca Manning in collaboration with Charles Jeffrey LOVERBOY and Mastered by: Nick Ryan

Choir: Amanda Butterworth, Moritz Profanter, Jess Ivankovic, Sam Drew-Jones, Luca Manning, Mathilda Taylor, Alannah Chance, Catherine Pockson, Essa Saulat, Yvonne Zhang, Nick Ryan

Trainers by: Converse

Footwear by: Gina Shoes

All banana boots and claw shoes by: Charles Jeffrey LOVERBOY

Notable guests and models: Tilda Swinton, Erin O'Connor, Beth Ditto, Katy England, Bobby Gillespie, Wolf Gillespie, Lux Gillespie, Cora Corre, Tish Weinstock, Princess Julia, Miss Jason, Jodie Harsh, Jack Wolfe, M Huncho