“Something strange was happening. Clothes were moving, wriggling, and even making sounds, some even started to grow eyes, arms, and legs. Bags grew tongues, boots grew legs, hats even grew ears. All the clothes started developing these labels that read ‘Charles Jeffrey LOVERBOY,’ with this wee monster underneath.”
These words, scrawled on scraps of paper, landed at Charles Jeffrey LOVERBOY HQ as we were designing our Autumn/Winter 2024 collection. Signed Maggie McPewitt – no, we’ve never heard of her either – this 18 year old from the lost Scottish village of Moshkirk informed the LOVERBOY team of her predicament.
FOUNDATION.FM OFF RECORD + LOVERBOY RADIO W/ CHARLES JEFFREY:
FROM THE FIRST EPISODE OF LOVERBOY RADIO FROM CREATIVE DIRECTOR CHARLES JEFFREY FOR FOUNDATION.FM! FOR THE FIRST INSTALLMENT, CHARLES WHISKS US AWAY TO NEW YORK AND TELLS US ALL ABOUT THE INSPIRATIONS THE BIG APPLE HAS ON HIS OWN FASHION AND BRAND. HE SPEAKS TO 3 INCREDIBLE NEW YORKERS HUSTLERS, JOEY LABEIJA, KID SUPER AND ANGELICA DAVINCHI. AND IF THAT WASNT ENOUGH YOU CAN SEE ALL 3 INTERVIEWS AND CHARLES' NEW YORK DOCUMENTARY ON VOGUE.COM AND YOUTUBE.
FOUNDATION.FM OFF RECORD + LOVERBOY RADIO W/ CHARLES JEFFREY:
FROM THE FIRST EPISODE OF LOVERBOY RADIO FROM CREATIVE DIRECTOR CHARLES JEFFREY FOR FOUNDATION.FM! FOR THE FIRST INSTALLMENT, CHARLES WHISKS US AWAY TO NEW YORK AND TELLS US ALL ABOUT THE INSPIRATIONS THE BIG APPLE HAS ON HIS OWN FASHION AND BRAND. PLUS HE'LL BE SPEAKING TO 3 INCREDIBLE NEW YORKERS HUSTLERS, JOEY LABEIJA, KID SUPER AND ANGELICA DEVINCHI.
AND IF THAT WASNT ENOUGH YOU CAN SEE ALL 3 INTERVIEWS AND CHARLES' NEW YORK DOCUMENTARY ON VOGUE.COM AND YOUTUBE NOW!
FOUNDATION.FM OFF RECORD + LOVERBOY RADIO W/ CHARLES JEFFREY:
WELCOME TO THE FIRST EPISODE OF LOVERBOY RADIO FROM THE INCREDIBLE CREATIVE DIRECTOR CHARLES JEFFREY! FOR THE FIRST INSTALLMENT, CHARLES WHISKS US AWAY TO NEW YORK AND TELLS US ALL ABOUT THE INSPIRATIONS THE BIG APPLE HAS ON HIS OWN FASHION AND BRAND.
AND IF THAT WASNT ENOUGH YOU CAN SEE ALL 3 INTERVIEWS AND CHARLES' NEW YORK DOCUMENTARY ON VOGUE.COM AND YOUTUBE NOW!
Ajüka on a harsh morning of a new week.
Suedes and patent leathers meet and smear each other.
An elegant rush.
ELSPETH sits unabashed atop her newsstand.
Unphased by the roar.
Pointing, laughing, galvanised by her own image.
Her newspapers sit abidingly, silently screaming their rhetoric, which is always at least 45% factual.
She knows no bounds and circulates every possible circle, revelling in the absurdity that is Ajükan life.
She sees everything.
SENGA, 27, a WORKER, has been toiling in the Engine Room for three months. She is slightly naive and has not yet been completely disenfranchised by the conditions she’s living in, but she is timid and a little awestruck by her old friend SNAKE 2’s glamorous appearance.
SENGA’s work gear is studded with all manner of salvaged trinkets and embellishments, a common practice among those in the Engine Room. The halter-neck wrap top under her suit is constructed from the reconstituted blue overalls given to every Engine Room Worker at the beginning of their tenure.
HORTENCE, 29, a SNAKE, has been living in Ajüka for two years. They know WORKER 2 as both were members of the same Glaedyhoot tribe in the land below. SNAKE 2 has been a Snake for just over a year. They regularly take trips to the Worker bars down near the Engine Room to gauge the temperature of those living there and to scour for material for stories.
HORTENCE’s snappy ensemble is pure Ajüka business-glam. There’s something of an Eighties resurgence happening in the city’s boutiques, and HORTENCE is ahead of the curve, eschewing the newsprint motif worn by her contemporaries, she is able to blend with the upper classes and gather valuable gossip.
SCUD, 23, a WORKER has been toiling in the Engine Room for just under a year, but it feels like it’s been 20. He knows he’s been misled by the Ajüka propaganda machine that lured him there, and to which he’s now contributing unwillingly. He is generally disillusioned by his position, the chance of promotion to the city above feels very far off.
Like many Engine Room employees, WORKER has customised his blue work suit, which boasts sprayed-on, acid wash detailing. The ensemble is accessorised with an embellished felt hat along with regulation gloves and boots for protection.
HECTOR, 25, his POSER boyfriend, lives in downtown Ajüka having worked his way out of the Engine Room. He empathises with WORKER, but has recently become somewhat affected by his new life in the city and his flashy new job as a tailor to the great and good.
POSER’S own suit is fresh from the atelier. Understated and oversized, it allows him to cut a louche figure in the city streets, which he also stomps in claw-toed loafers – all the rage in Ajüka!
We meet the couple in an endless stairwell, one of the dingy, liminal spaces between the Engine Room and the Ajüka city far above. They are facing each other, leaning against a wall. POSER is holding WORKER’s hand, telling a long winded story, the latter looks downcast.