LFWM: Charles Jeffrey's Tartan army fires up the catwalk for his AW18 collection

Charles Jeffrey returns with yet another visual spectacle, meanwhile, David Beckham makes a surprise appearance on the second day of London Fashion Week Men's 
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Emma McCarthy8 January 2018

One of the capital’s brightest young designers brought the second day of London Fashion Week Men’s to a spectacular close last night as Charles Jeffrey unveiled his latest outlandish collection in typically dramatic fashion.

Before guests had even found their seats, performance artists, dressed in underwear and paint-splattered plastic macs, screamed and stomped around the audience to set the scene for a show entitled Tantrum.

Soon after, to the soundtrack of The Prodigy’s Firestarter by a live drummer, models dressed in tartan kilts, moth-eaten suits and waspish corsets paraded down the catwalk.

In his sophomore solo show, the Central Saint Martin’s graduate, who scooped the title of Emerging Menswear Designer at last month’s British Fashion Awards, also sought to “centre on the myth of gay pride and confidence, with all its peacockery and aggressive flamboyance,” the show notes explained, citing Alan Downs’ book ‘The Velvet Rage: Overcoming the Pain of Growing Up Gay in a Straight Man’s World’ as a key influence.

PA Wire/PA Images

As a result, large, loud silhouettes, including knitwear stuffed with padding and military-style jackets, were deliberately intimidating, intended as a “shield....to protect oneself from predators”.

The show’s finale also saw a model take to the catwalk supporting a giant rock sculpture on his head with the help of two performance artists holding it aloft.

PA Wire/PA Images

Since bursting onto the scene in 2015, the 27-year-old Glaswegian designer has been shaking up the menswear scene with his eccentric and subversive aesthetic. But while his drag-meets-club kid aesthetic may grab headlines, it is Jeffrey’s canny ability to pepper his collections with surprisingly commercial pieces which has seen the young wunderkind gain critical acclaim.

Among the more wearable items on the catwalk yesterday were decorative leather overcoats, streamlined Teddy tailoring and smock sleeve shirts.

Elsewhere, David Beckham also made an appearance on the LFWM schedule yesterday as he unveiled the latest collection for Kent & Curwen.

The brand, which is co-owned by Beckham and designed by Daniel Kearns, showcased an exhibition of portraits by renowned photographer Perry Ogden, shot on the fields of Hackney Marshes where Essex boy Beckham first honed his skills as an amateur footballer.

Kent & Curwen

The images feature street cast models, including boxers scouted in Bethnal Green’s Repton boxing gym and artists-in-training from the capital’s many design schools, wearing branded tracksuits and striped rugby jerseys.

“The brand is multigenerational,” said Beckham during a lunch during which industry insiders ate pie and mash followed by sticky toffee pudding. “I can go into the store and find something great and so can my 15 and 18 year old kids.”

Kent & Curwen

Beckham, who was joined by son Romeo at the launch, was also keen to stamp his own, modern interpretation on the revamped Savile Row label which was founded in 1926 and counts England’s heraldic crest as it’s trademark. “I think what I bring to this is I am very British, I did wear the Three Lions for three years,” Beckham added. “We want to create our own identity for the brand.”

The exhibition, which is accompanied by a short film, is open to the public until tomorrow at 15-17 Floral Street, next door to Kent & Curwen’s new Covent Garden flagship store.

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