The London Men’s Shows unveiled a Dystopian Dance for the 2020s, from designer Charles Jeffrey Loverboy! In HELL MEND YOU, Charles Jeffrey creates two counter-cultures and sets them against each other, either side of an existential dance. This is the future, cast in all its bleak reality, and the dance is a demand and a DARE: the survival of humanity is either the PRIZE or the PRICE… loverboy.net
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Are you dancin’?” is the question. Crossing the divide. The risk.
“Are you askin’?” is the answer.
Just the first answer. Sense-check, counter-challenge.
(Did you think, if you asked a simple question, you would get a simple reply?)
“I’m asking.”
“Then I’m dancing.
The first sect Jeffrey conjures is the DANDERS. Evolved from the proud roots of Teddy-boy pride with an underlying twist of Scottish militaria, DANDERS – as the name suggests – would be dandies alone if they weren’t so physical, so inventive, so hands-on. In this barren, undone world, they brandish a toughness, even a muscularity, reaching down in desperation to an older, more animalistic tradition – from the very edges of Scotland.
This tradition is the Festival of the Horse from the Orkney Islands, where the young compete in the ritual ploughing of straight lines and parading of exquisite, lovingly-made, costumes. In their own way, they pay homage to humankind’s ancient bond with the animal world.
LOVERBOY, has always been about excess; fun-filled escapism from the banality of everyday life. But there are aspects of the everyday that we as a brand need to take a closer, more honest look at. The impact that we have on our environment, both ecologically and socially cannot be ignored, and while LOVERBOY cannot yet claim to be at the forefront of making the changes required, we’re ardently committed to getting there. We are working every day to improve our processes and working practices, to ensure that we mindfully, and with accountability, respect our environment – as much as we respect the people on whom the brand relies.
