The show space was charged with excitement and subversion. “Steven is his own designer,” asserts Mower, but likens his capacity for building a brand to Jonathan Anderson. A major investment could take SS Daley all the way, she adds. Lambert, who praises the cross-generational appeal and versatility of the detail-driven work, agrees: “Steven has created this nugget of eccentric Britishness that’s been missing from London – I can see him taking over a fashion house.”
Stokey-Daley is not short of industry accolades. The 2022 LVMH Prize and 2024 Queen Elizabeth II Award for British Design feel at home in his Homerton studio, which is chock-full of flea-market finds and a loyal team of four “all-rounders”, who, after some production difficulties and with just days to go before the s/s ’25 presentation, dutifully painted hundreds of wooden beads by hand. Two shows a year (styled by Lambert), coupled with the continuation of the brand’s Orange Label, comprising one-off upcycled treasures, is the plan going forward, along with the possibility of… glassware.
After all, it was SS Daley that provided custom nautical-themed tumblers for last year’s Vogue World: London celebrations. Since then, the designer has been inundated with requests for his coastal tableware (EM Forster’s The Story of a Panic was a key inspiration for the a/w ’24 collection). Like his signature duck, dachshund and, for next season, Dalmatian knits, it represents the levity that is essential to SS Daley’s world. “I always start with the serious stuff, but then it’s really lovely to pause and see what’s going to throw it all off.” With the backing of home and the Harrys, there is surely nothing that can derail SS Daley’s course.
Cover look: Wool tail coat, shirred cotton shirt, wool trousers, feathered tie, all SS Daley. Hair: Laurence Walker. Make-up: Thomasin Waite. Nails: Simone Cummings. Set design: Josh Stovell. Production: Phoebe Asker. Digital artwork: James Midwinter. Model: Mia Regan.
