CHARLES JEFFREY LOVERBOY AW26: THISTLE
A Queer Act of Defiance, Worn Loudly
There are fashion shows—and then there are moments. For Autumn/Winter 2026, CHARLES JEFFREY LOVERBOY returned to Dover Street Market Paris not with a runway, but with a happening. Thistle unfolded as an immersive, communal experience—one that demanded presence, feeling, and participation rather than polite observation.
Staged as a live performance, the presentation featured music by Baby’s Berserk and a small cast of models—friends and new friends—moving freely through the space in full LOVERBOY defiance. Around them, metres of hand-painted fabric, painted by Charles Jeffrey himself, wrapped the room in a pagan-punk cocoon. It was raw, expressive, and deliberately unruly—echoing the early LOVERBOY club nights where fashion, music, bodies, and instinct collided without hierarchy.
At the core of Thistle is its namesake: Scotland’s national flower. Sharp, defensive, and resilient, the thistle becomes both symbol and statement. Drawing from the legend of Viking invaders foiled by stepping barefoot onto the prickly plant, the collection questions romanticized history—how it’s told, who tells it, and what gets softened in the retelling. History, here, is less about fact and more about reclamation.
Jeffrey doesn’t romanticize the past—he rewrites it. This is romanticism as structure, not nostalgia. A queer Scottish resistance emerges through clashing tartans, torn tweeds, ripped denim, lace, silk, and wool. Sleeves are tied like sashes, knits are stacked without restraint, and silhouettes oscillate between hourglass drama and sharp 80s tailoring. Nothing is edited down. Everything is intentional.
The styling revels in excess: bobbly crochet, mossy textures, slouchy leather, Fair Isle knits in apple green and mushroom hues. Oversized suits are spliced together Frankenstein-style, beanies are dissected and reassembled, and shirts gain extra sleeves and are tied close to the heart. Why wear one layer when you can wear five? Why be subtle when you can be unforgettable?
This is LOVERBOY’s version of luxury, wearing everything you are, all at once, with pride. The collection embraces mess as meaning, care as resistance, and laughter as survival. As the night stretches on, garments are meant to crease, peel, scuff, and evolve, just like the bodies wearing them.
In an industry grappling with uncertainty, Thistle stands as a reminder of what fashion can still be when it’s rooted in community, friendship, and fearless self-expression. Past and present fold into one another, layered like the clothes themselves. And through it all, LOVERBOY shows up as it always has: in defence, in defiance, and unapologetically for the weirdos, by the weirdos.
Because every day may be a battle, but with LOVERBOY, you’re never unarmed.
Photo Credits: Oli Kearon