The Tamesis
Charles Jeffrey and Christopher Kane have a lot in common. They both grew up near Hamilton, Scotland. They both moved to London when they were 17; they both went to Central Saint Martins; they were both Leos. They also launched their eponymous independent label less than a decade apart – and they have lots of ideas on how to scale independent brands in the UK.
Jeffrey founded his own label, Charles Jeffrey Loverboy, in 2014, and before each of his shows, he made a habit of calling friends in the industry to share opinions, advice, and chat. When he joins Kane and I on the call from the studio, his hands are covered in paint: Jeffrey has been painting a giant mural for his Fall/Winter 2026 show, which took place on Saturday, January 24, during Paris Men’s Fashion Week. Kane founded his label in 2006 and became one of the most iconic British designers of the 2010s. He’s dialing in from London, where, while still active in the industry, he’s having a much calmer (and less paint-smelling) evening away from the traditional 2022 runway schedule.
We talked about growing up in Scotland (including yours truly), opportunities to improve working-class creativity, and why young designers should be allowed to fail.
What follows is an edited version of that conversation.
Fashion: How long have you known each other?
Charles: I have a funny story. I worked for a modeling agency called Scottish Models when I was in high school – I was probably about 15 at the time. I was saying to a guy I work with, Scotty, how much I love Christopher Kane, and he said, ‘I’m just talking to Christopher Kane [about] Model – I have his phone number. I was like, ‘Shut up!’ So Scotty went out to lunch and I went to his computer and got your phone number, Christopher, and I texted and said, ‘Hey Debbie, I’m going to pick up my car keys later.’ And you said, ‘Who is this? This isn’t Debbie, this is Christopher Kane. I actually had an out-of-body experience. Then, I texted back and said, “Oh my gosh, Christopher, I absolutely love your work.” I’m pretty sure you blocked me after that.
Christopher: I mean, I’ve done worse things. Why Deborah? I love how Scots are always in your face.
