REI KAWAKUBO CURATES: CHARLES JEFFREY LOVERBOY

The legendary Japanese designer Rei Kawakubo of Comme des Garçons has personally invited Scottish luxury streetwear designer Charles Jeffrey Loverboy to create a range for the renewal opening of Trading Museum CdG, the brand’s museum-like pop-up concept store, which opened in Tokyo in October of last year, and for the launch of Dover Street Market Paris in April 2024. These collections will be held in a special store area called “Rei Kawakubo Curates,” featuring Kawakubo hand-picked designers and items.

The concept was to revisit the Loverboy archive of “beautiful suits and tailored jackets” and reimagine them with a new take. These items were very special, made one of a kind in a limited run. The Navy holes suit is made using British wool of super fine quality and layered with tailoring canvas, exposed by holes cut in the outer fabric. This suit replicates the opening catwalk look from the AW18 show titled “Tantrum.” The Tartan holes suit is made using Italian cotton in a colorway called “X-Ray Tartan.” The name comes from the overexposed colors mutating the Scottish Tartan Registered classic of Loverboy Tartan. The fabric is layered this time with applique dot patches and frayed edges.

The range includes a line of jewelry that features classic “Loverboy creatures” reimagined on dog tag necklaces and intricate wire broaches on miniature Scottish kilt pins. Each pin is a one-off, embodying different personas of Charles’ vision for the capsule. The relationship between Charles Jeffrey Loverboy and Dover Street Market / CdG goes back to AW16, when they were some of the first stockists to support the brand, a relationship that continues globally to this day.