Acclaimed designer Charles Jeffrey “takes a break from fabrics” with new illustrations

Date
1 August 2017

The Glaswegian creative Charles Jeffrey has released a new set of illustrations following his SS18 collection. "As the dust has settled after my show, and the really intense madness that always follows it, I’ve felt a need to self-indulge in some work that’s pretty simple,” Charles tells It’s Nice That.

Charles has worked in various disciplines, including collaborative Boys in Pain zine with Jack Appleyard and Gareth Wrighton, and Loverboy fashion brand-stroke-club night. Loverboy was a monthly night launched at Vogue Fabrics in 2014 to finance his MA degree at Central Saint Martins, and quickly became the catalyst for Charles in becoming “one of the most talked about names in fashion”. So far, he has an LVMH Prize nomination, creative collaboration with John Galliano for Love Magazine’s Marginal archive shoot and cover of Sunday Times Style under his belt.

“Charles Jeffrey is currently the upholder of all that is human, creative and cheerful about British fashion,” says Sarah Mower from US Vogue about his latest SS18 collection. From this, Charles has used his fashion influence and knowledge to branch into 2D illustrations for the time being. “Taking a break from fabrics, set design, anything three-dimensional, and keeping things flat for a while,” he says. “Usually my illustrations are full-frame. This series is the first time I’ve let them ‘breathe’ like this. Working with coloured card and some quite rudimentary mark-making, the process has mostly been about colour combinations that felt nice!"

What’s the inspiration behind the illustrations? “The work always starts with some familiar faces for me,” Charles explains. “There are a series of motifs and characters that are a big part of the Loverboy world — there’s a sense of comfort there. Our star fox, the Loverboy hand, the portraits I call my ‘guys’. It’s a series of symbols and signs that are my second language."

Each illustration is available to buy and can be ordered by contacting sales@charlesjeffrey.net

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Charles Jeffrey

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Charles Jeffrey

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Charles Jeffrey

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Charles Jeffrey

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About the Author

Ayla Angelos

Ayla is a London-based freelance writer, editor and consultant specialising in art, photography, design and culture. After joining It’s Nice That in 2017 as editorial assistant, she was interim online editor in 2022/2023 and continues to work with us on a freelance basis. She has written for i-D, Dazed, AnOther, WePresent, Port, Elephant and more, and she is also the managing editor of design magazine Anima. 

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