Somerset House

Scribbles on a flattened cheese and onion crisp packet form one of the first posters for Loverboy, the monthly club night Charles Jeffrey hosted in Dalston’s Vogue Fabrics to fund his eponymous fashion label. Ten years on, the Loverboy brand is now well on its way to becoming a household name with its signature bunny-ear knitted hats and eye-popping tartan – yet it remains as playful, punky and true to itself as ever.  Celebrating ten years of the fashion powerhouse, The Lore of Loverboy is a pay-what-you-can exhibition at Somerset House, in the same building as Jeffrey’s studios. We start in the mid-2010s: early sketches from Jeffrey’s years as a BA student at Central Saint Martins hang next to images of Basquiat paintings and a distressed Isle of Arran knit. Clips of his AW18 show, directed by Nick Knight, roll into the music video for The Horrors’s ‘Sheena is a Parasite’: all strobes, screams and heavy liner. We see nods to Vivienne Westwood, to Andy Warhol, to folklore festivals in Orkney and to Louis XIV. The influences are wild and vivid, condensed down into gender-bending clothes which look as anarchic as they do fabulous. The influences are wild and vivid, condensed down into clothes which look as anarchic as they do fabulous The whole thing is firmly rooted in Jeffrey’s flamboyant character, his queerness and his Scottish heritage. Stand-outs include the certificate of the official registry of the signature red, blue and black Loverboy tartan and a screen showing th

Sashay your way to Somerset House’s stunning Georgian courtyard for its annual summer extravaganza, which as always has an emphasis on queer-led, music-pumping and dance-filled events.  Stop by on weekdays for free, non-naff family workshops like bookmaking, loom making and embroidery, accompanied by food and drink pop-ups and the fine refreashing spray of the courtyard fountains. On weekends is when the action ramps up with live events and performances from inclusivity-centered creatives and grassroot communities. This year look out for a bike ride from Black Unity, the Queer Family Picnic, Black Girl Fest, the Vogue Rites voguing ball and a live musical love letter to London from Femi Koleoso (Ezra Collective, Gorillaz). 

You’ve watched ‘Paris is Burning’, now see the moves for real. Head down to Somerset House to see its grand Georgian Courtyard filled with dressed-to-kill shapeshifters at this huge open-air vogueing competition. London’s grassroots Ballroom collective Vogue Rites is bringing international ballroom talent to the Strand to walk the runway and compete for trophies in this alfresco extravaganza of dance, fashion and music. Stand back – the vogue battles are about to begin.  Part of Somerset House’s Summer in the Square series. 

Somerset House has a history of creating intruding and carefully-curated exhibitions about Black and queer culture. This autumn, it’s at it again with this deep dive into the largest cultural and historical archive of Black LGBTQ+ people in Britain: rukus! Curated by artist and filmmaker Topher Campbell, the exhibition is a chance to see items from the award-winning rukus! archive (currently housed at the London Metropolitan Archives), including material showcasing the activism, artistic events and private lives of Black Queer Britains, work from UK Black Queer pioneers from the 1970’s until the present day, newly commissioned work and pieces from the ‘first out generation’ who have created greater visibility for the Black LGBTQ+ diaspora. The exhibition opening coincides with 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair and is a wonderful and rare chance to get acquainted with an intimate slice of Black queer history in the UK that’s not often seen in public.