LOVERBOY and Highlights from LFW Men's SS25

Charles Jeffery LOVERBOY
Caroline Issa 

10 years into building a brand is a big deal in London. This is the city that has birthed some of the most radical design talents (see John Galliano, Alexander McQueen, Grace Wales Bonner, Daniel Lee… we could go on and on) but to keep a fashion business in London? Well, that can be another story (see Christopher Kane, Vampire’s Wife, Jonathan Saunders as more recent casualties). 

So to gather at Somerset House’s courtyard on a Friday night, metres away from the basement studios where the Charles Jeffery LOVERBOY studio was born, to celebrate 10 years of a label steeped in rebellion was special. The brand’s bite – metaphorically and physically, given the sell-out Moggies shoes with claws – is tempered with a soft romance but best personified by the opening choral, guttural scream that kicked off the show. You may have been shot by an arrow, but at least it was in a tartan knit dress with all the right curves. 

Beth Ditto and friends walked the runway, and most appropriately Vivienne Westwood’s granddaughter, Cora Corre did too. Appropriate as Charles Jeffrey is the closest inheritor to Westwood’s radical approach to fashion and storytelling, another British speciality and so exciting to witness in Italian-made clothes, stitched with London-based love and fury.

Denzilpatrick
Eve Bailey 

Nothing beats a homecoming, and Denzilpatrick’s SS25 London runway debut during this London Fashion Week Men’s was just that. Previously showing in Paris, the relatively new brand – now five seasons in – joined the revamped menswear schedule, and ultimately reminded us how Londoners like to play. 

Daniel Gayle and James Bosley both come from a long history of working for other brands, out of the limelight, but Denzilpatrick represents their own creative vision front and centre. At the heart of the label is a celebration of the diversity of London, a manifestation of the multitude of people and everything the city stands for, usually seen in the brand’s evocative and personality-driven lookbooks.

For Spring 2025, in addition to their sharp tailoring and gender-fluid silhouettes, they threw in some swim armbands and poolside goggles because, hey! why not? As the cast of models marched to the fanfare of trumpets, the trumpet case became an accessory of choice (apparently made by the only remaining trumpet maker in Britain), and Denzilpatrick’s satirical language became clearer. Offering the structure and practicality of British club uniforms with an off-duty pastel colour palette, Juju jelly shoes and a sauntering attitude sealed the deal. There’s no denying the home turf advantage rings true, if the step up (to a fanfare) that Denzilpatrick showed us is anything to go by.

QASIMI
Augustine Hammond 

On a sunny Saturday in Wapping, QASIMI presented its latest collection in a disused power station, situated in the unexpectedly charming former industrial district. The crowded occasion on the rather sparse Saturday schedule was a welcome reminder of the brand's ability to bring its community, art, sculpture, and fashion into the same conversation (and room) with conviction.

Building on the creative spirit forged by the late founder Khalid Al Qasimi, his twin sister Hoor Al Qasimi has gradually introduced a restored focus and approach to collaboration in her direction for the brand, which kicked off with the QASIMI Rising talent incubator last year. For the first live show since Hoor assumed leadership in 2020, the brand teamed up with artist Kambui Olujimi. The collaboration resulted in abstract prints from Olujimi's series "When Monuments Fall" onto light summer coats and T-shirts, following on from QASIMI’s previous artistic engagement with Sudanese artist Kamala Ibrahim Ishaq. 

Hand-blown glass jewellery protruded like delicate branches from the body while key fabrics such as silk twill, sheer cotton voile, and a luxurious silk-wool blend, fluttered in a soft palette of blue, green, and white within the industrial venue. QASIMI's revived vision, which admittedly felt more “fashion” than in previous collections, showcased fluid yet architectural shapes and airy tailoring in motion. The dynamic show marked a refreshing departure from the brand's static formats of the past few collections, signalling an exciting evolution, which the brand’s loyal supporters cheered to the metal rafters.

A shoutout to the London Fashion Week showcase at the Groucho Club where we got to peruse the collections of Harri, Paolo Carzana, Carlotta Barrera, Derrick and Roker and got very excited about the level of creativity and quality in each collection.