Topman and Fashion East’s groundbreaking support scheme MAN has been championing emerging menswear talent for over a decade. The exceptional talent to have come through the initiative speaks for itself: J.W. Anderson, Christopher Shannon and Craig Green just a handful of success stories. It’s widely accepted that without MAN, there would be no London Collections Men, having started with a place on London’s womenswear schedule before leading London’s first menswear day of shows. Already a highly anticipated fixture on the ever-growing schedule, The British Fashion Council has just announced which designers will follow in the footsteps of that alumni, and the list contains two newcomers. Along with Charles Jeffrey Loverboy, who will return for his second season, Feng Chen Wang and Per Götesson will also put on a runway show at the Topman showspace on day one of LCM, which takes place from June 10 to 13. The trio of designers will also receive financial sponsorship, expert business mentoring, a place in a top international sales showroom in Paris, and more behind the scenes support. Here’s a taster of what to expect, according to the BFC:
Charles Jeffrey LOVERBOY
Charles Jeffrey is a Central St Martin’s MA graduate, illustrator and radical creative. The Scot launched at Fashion East’s presentations in 2015 before his runway debut at MAN last January where he took over the catwalk with his LOVERBOY world. His cast of artists, musicians and friends stomped past Gary Card’s huge moving sculptures recreating the vibe of Jeffrey’s cult clubnight LOVERBOY at VF Dalston. Don’t be fooled though, Jeffrey presented serious clobber too – his love of tailoring permeated the line up – from ‘drunk’ tailored suits to a puckered ‘nervous’ jacket showing off meticulous darting. Signature Aran knits collaged with electrical tape came worn with paint smeared jeans, all intertwined with impressive tailoring and giant Goth boots from New Rock. Charles Jeffrey LOVERBOY will be available soon from stores including Dover Street Market (London, New York City & Tokyo), JOYCE (Hong Kong) and VFILES (New York).
Feng Chen Wang
Feng Chen Wang is the London based brand of Beijing-born designer Fengchen Wang. Wang completed a Masters at London’s Royal College of Arts before launching her brand in 2015. She focuses her aesthetic on combining function with an astute attention to detail and strong focus on outerwear pieces. Feng presented her AW16 ‘I am a Man’ collection during New York Fashion Week and was one of 23 designers shortlisted for the prestigious LVMH Prize 2016. Her collections are available to buy internationally from stores including Lane Crawford (Shanghai), D-MOP (Hong Kong), GR8 (Tokyo) and Vfiles (New York City).
Per Götesson
Newcomer Per Götesson is from a small town in the province of Småland in Sweden. He’s currently studying for his MA in menswear at London’s Royal College of Arts and will be graduating in June shortly before his London Collections Men debut at MAN. Per’s DIY approach to menswear is inspired by real-life function and needs: “I like normal things, because they are more valid socially than wearing abstract sculptures – I just want the guy I’m dressing to feel great.” One of his recent projects is called ‘poetical functions’ and includes pockets built into garments to hide bottles of wine on the bus. Per is also working with key chains and big key rings as functional jewellery.
