Rising to fame in the late ´70s, JC/DC (as London's East End hip hop enthusiasts and the South's grime scene have taken to calling him) became infamous for dressing superstars such as Charlie's Angel sex symbol Farrah Fawcett and 20th Century icon, Madonna. After joining the Createurs Et Industries in 1972, JC/DC went on to create his first collection, taking inspiration from from his military boarding school upbringing and stealing the show with his radical creations made of oilcloth sponges, floor cloths and even his own old boarding school blanket.
He became life-long friends with Vivienne Westwood, Malcom McLaren and the New York Dolls after meeting during a trip to London and his fascination with graffiti in the 1980s led to his following eccentric designs of Warhol-esque Campbell soup can dresses, giant Snoopy t-shirts and over sized detailing consistent throughout his collections. Assuming the role of cartoon fashion maverick, this idea has been imitated´, most recently, across the London catwalk shows during Fashion Week 2007 with Luella Bartley's batman inspired Autumn-Winter collection and Marc Jacobs Sponge Bob influences for Louis Vuitton. His personal motto of ´I am and I don´t follow´ has been pursued by the designer to a tee despite counting Cassette Playa, Jeremy Scott, Bernhad Willhelm, Giles Deacon, Gareth Pugh and himself as part of the same community.
Jean Charles considers dressing 5000 priests, 500 bishops and the Pope in rainbow colours and a theme reminiscent of Noah´s Ark, for their 1997 visit to Paris, as "life changing". The designs were met with praise and admiration and the designer thought it amusingly appropriate to remind the Pope of the rainbows connection with the gay community, of which the Pope responded with suggesting that JC/DC "used colour as a cement of faith" and that nobody had actually copyrighted the symbol.
Famed for his colourful injection of fun throughout his collections, having used clouds, polka dots, smiley faces and graphic cartoon characters, his eclectic designs have caught the attention of many a fashionista and in 2006 exhibited his work, spanning the length of his professional career, at the Victoria & Albert Museum, penned POPAGANDA: The Fashion and Style of JC/DC.
He has taught students at the Academy of Applied Arts and Central Saint Martins as well as having found the time to write a sc-fi novel based on a boy living in the year 2099. He is applauded for being a man of many talents, evident from a single glance over his ready-to-wear, home furnishings, sportswear and car collections and his brand has recently collaborated with London based company Marchpole to create good quality clothes at reality prices, something we could all do a bit of.
His Autumn/Winter 2008 collection, named `Once Upon A Time´ takes inspiration from modern day military and child's play and now his entire range, including his iconic tees and cute patent bags (as seen on Skins cast member Effy in April '08s issue of Super Super magazine), are set to be stocked at the designers new Conduit Street London store. Designed by the same guy as Castelbajacs Parisian store, the designer himself has been spotted decorating the boards covering the windows of the soon-to-be-store with chalk illustrations of flying teddy bears, hearts and stars, a peronal touch indicating he is waiting in as much anticipation as the rest of us.
For more information on the designer, check his website www.jc-decastelbajac.com