Welcome to the Engine Room. Charles Jeffrey LOVERBOY’s industrialist entry into Milan Fashion Week was a ‘Utopia Engineered for You’ as the Scottish designer’s eponymous label’s AW23 runway show told the story of beaten down workers, tabloid ‘Snakes’ and glossy LOVERBOY ‘Posers’ fighting for survival in the heavenly floating city of Ajuka.
As models stomped down the warehouse-esque space to a rave worthy Kunde remix of ‘Dama’ by Inprocess, we hungrily absorbed a glimpse of revolution, showmanship and workhouse-core propaganda. But in the case of Charles Jeffrey LOVERBOY FW23, the devil was in the details. Enter: satirical accessories galore and youthful rebellion against a capitalist world. From lashings of newspaper scandal to wearable roadkill, we’ve curated some of the standout accessory pieces from the triumphantly playful show.
CONFIRMED: EARTH IS LAME
You heard it here first. Sarcastic, scornful digs at the media were brandished across a range of ‘Snake’ models; a sly, gossip-spreading city gang. A crumpled headpiece in the form of a newspaper piece titled ‘CONFIRMED: EARTH IS LAME’ teetered on the head of a Snake as she sauntered down the runway, tittle-tattle distribution at the ready.
2023’S HOTTEST NEW ACCESSORY? THE TOOLBOX
The underdogs of the show, the ‘Workers’ showcased their furnace-shovelling plight in many ways – soot-smeared faces, chimney-sweep headgear and solemn, gaunt expressions. Little did these factory-imprisoned characters know that they were giving us the unexpected accessory of the year: a wrench brimming, dirtied workman’s tool box. Move over, YSL lunch box – this is what the people want.
A SHARP UPGRADE 4 THE PAW BOOT
The infamous Charles Jeffrey LOVERBOY x Roker Lion Claw boot made a welcome return to the runway this year – with an updated look. The immediately recognisable, eccentric footwear was seen on the trotters of multiple models in the fresh form of monster-coloured loafers and platformed Mary Janes. The shoe’s classic polished metal claws jutted menacingly from the toes of each foot, giving serious ‘I bite’ energy.
VICTORIAN LANTERN, BUT MAKE IT FASHION
Ebenezer Scrooge is shaking rn – his favourite bedside candle accessory just got an era-appropriate upgrade in the form of a DIY Victorian lantern. Adorned with LOVERBOY scratched out star motifs and held up to head-level by a Worker (with a worryingly disturbed expression), this unlikely accessory contender lit the way down the runway.
THIS DEAD RACOON WAS A PAID ACTOR
Roadkill, but make it fashion. The star of the show was arguably the (weirdly adorable) dead racoon scarf that dangled solemnly around a Worker’s neck. Its X-marked eyes and limp, knitted body was reminiscent of a luxurious stole worn by the Worker’s affluent counterparts.
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