S.S. Daley is Pitti Uomo’s latest guest designer. Following in the formidable footsteps of former guests including Jim Sander, Wales Bonner, Martine Rose and most recently, ERL, in January 2024, S.S.Daley will show its AW24 collection at the 105th edition of the Florentine menswear fair, taking place January 9-12.
Founded by British menswear designer Steven Stokey-Daley in 2020, the label will show alongside Luca Magliano’s eponymous label at the Fortezza da Basso in Florence.
Having gained widespread recognition after winning the LVMH Prize for Young Designers in 2022, Stokey-Daley is praised for his shrewd and campy narrative that centres around the British class system. Hailing from Liverpool, the young creative burst onto the scene in 2020, after his graduate collection was worn by musical titan Harry Styles in the video for his hit song “Golden”. Debuting at London Fashion Week shortly after in September 2021, the University of Westminster grad collaborated with the National Youth Theatre to present an unforgettable performance piece. Since then, he has gone from strength to strength, subverting archetypal British traditionalism to explore themes of social class, inequality, sex and gender.
Stokey-Daley comments: “I’m honoured to have the opportunity to take S.S.Daley’s manifesto of modern British storytelling to Pitti Uomo, the epicentre of menswear design.”
“Steven Stokey-Daley transforms the British Upper Class into a Queer fashion fantasy. Despite his youth, Steven’s project is characterised by an expressive maturity, an amused and eccentric reinterpretation of British Heritage, an indifference to gender stereotypes and a commitment to sustainability. We love his talent for revising the archetypes of menswear, the uniforms of the most exclusive British high society public schools, capturing the signs of the times and extravagantly subverting everything with a subtle irony, playfully amplifying the volumes of his garments, fooling around with the details, working with unexpected fabrics and floral prints. Then there is the almost literary character of his visions that recall the incurably eccentric characters with impeccable manners in Evelyn Waugh’s novels. He is certainly no stranger to adventure, this well-educated boy from Liverpool: from his success in dressing global popstar Harry Styles to the prestige of the LVMH Young Fashion Designer prize,” says Francesca Tacconi, special events coordinator at Pitti Immagine. “Inviting Steven to Florence means dedicating another adventure to him that will be shared with the international audience at Pitti Uomo. Giving him an opportunity to showcase his stories and project them towards the future.”
Photography courtesy of S.S. Daley.