On only the second day of London Fashion Week it soon became clear: Steven Stokey-Daley’s womenswear debut is the moment of the event. And not just because Harry Styles is sat front row (as are Emma Corrin and Anna Wintour), but because the room is filled with a sense of excitement for Britishness in fashion that hasn’t been felt since Christopher Bailey left Burberry Prorsum back in 2018. ‘Right after the show, I had this snap realisation about exactly who we are as a brand and where we’re going,’ Stokey-Daley tells me over Zoom from his east London studio. It was a sentiment echoed by the audience too, who witnessed his evolution from a breakout menswear designer to British design mainstay – and one who would be topping our mental shopping lists.

Like most success stories, the 27-year-old Liverpudlian never planned to head up the new guard of Brit designers – or see his designs worn on theMet Galared carpet and Ian McKellen perform at one of his shows. Growing up, everything pointed towards a life on stage. But on the day he was meant to enrol on Warwick University’s English literature and theatre studies course, he pulled out, suddenly convinced it wasn’t the right path. Instead, he pursued an art foundation, before becoming a fashion design student at London’s University of Westminster. ‘My family was disappointed that I didn’t become the person that they thought I was going to be,’ he admits. ‘I suppose they invested a lot of time and energy in me being this theatre person and so it was a breakneck decision I made.’ As it turns out, he played a blinder.

Fascinated by posh school students from Harrow outside his then studio space, the new designer subverted the public school tropes to create his own fastidious aesthetic, presenting his menswear collection for the first time at fashion week in 2021, with the help of the National Youth Theatre, of which he is a former member. As it turns out, you can take the kid out of the theatre, but you can’t take away the natural ability to put on a performance.

SS Daley Spring/Summer ’25 ©SS DALEY

His womenswear debut, three years later, was met with the same level of enthusiasm. Trench coats, beaded skirts, boyish suiting and coquettish underpinnings – ‘redefining classic British archetypes’ – were inspired by the British painter Gluck. Where his menswear subverts femininity, his womenswear skews the masculine aspects of British heritage, and so naturally the suits stand out. Keira Knightley is a fan, wearing them on her Black Doves press tour.

So who is the woman SS Daley is designing for? He cites Cate Blanchett, who presented him with the LVMH prize in 2022, as a mood board pin-up – ‘She’ll be an SS Daley girl at some point,’ he quips – as well as the women who surround the brand: his mother, auntie, nan, the fashion critic and mentor Sarah Mower, and his team. ‘It was nice to have conversations with these women to understand how they would see themselves in my universe, what they want to wear. I think the knee-jerk thing can sometimes be to oversexualise women. It’s not the place for me to do that.’

SS Daley Spring/Summer ’25 ©Christina Frakgou

His knack for creating a whole new visual language hasn’t gone unnoticed with those who hold the purse strings. In a struggling British retail landscape (the folding of the luxury retailer Matches dealt a blow to many young Brit brands), Stokey-Daley has, in an unprecedented move, got John Lewis onboard. The high street retailer has bought into the runway collection and will stock the brand online and in selected stores from March. ‘The British retail landscape is in a really bad place, it’s scary, and so it has to evolve quickly. There’s something exciting about John Lewis taking the initiative to expand and transform what they offer,’ he says. ‘If I get equally scared and excited at the same time, I know it’s the right thing to do.’

SS Daley Spring/Summer ’25 ©Christina Fragkou

Catwalk fashion in John Lewis might sound surprising, but the store’s head of buying insists it makes sense. ‘We know that our customers come to us because they love being able to shop our trusted brands, new designers and design collaborations all in one place. Because of this, it’s important for us to constantly seek out brands we think they’ll love and that spark excitement while harmoniously sitting alongside what we already offer,’ says Beth Pettet, head of buying at John Lewis. She believes the customer will love SS Daley’s printed silk slip dresses and embroidered tailored jackets, with prices ranging from £175 to £1,475, and the menswear majoring in printed Cuban-collar shirts and striped cotton shorts. ‘My nan is a John Lewis girly,’ Stokey-Daley laughs from behind his big square frames. ‘My family is very proud. But I think when they see the billboard go up in Liverpool, that will be the moment they’ll go “Whoa!”’

His is something of a fashion fairytale that gives hope to anyone who is still harbouring aspirations of making it in fashion. But keeping a business afloat isn’t easy, the working-class creative admits. ‘That’s the thing you don’t anticipate. You could do a £2m sales season but if you don’t have £1m in the bank, you can’t produce your orders. So you have to go and find that money somewhere, and it’s hard doing it on your own. It’s definitely a system that isn’t built for people who haven’t got money,’ he says.

©Christina Fragkou

Enter Harry Styles, friend of the brand and, as of last year, a minority stakeholder. The two were introduced by Styles’s stylist, Harry Lambert, who called out for young designers to be featured in a music video and Stokey-Daley responded. A pair of floral, high-waisted trousers (crafted from old curtains) and dress shirt appeared in the singer’s Golden video and the rest, well, is history. ‘There came a point where we developed a personal relationship outside of work, and the conversation about formalising our relationship came up along the way,’ Stokey-Daley says of his connection with the singer. ‘I think it just reflects Harry’s character, wanting to help and to join in on the vision.’ And what does an investors meeting with Mr Styles look like? ‘We have super open communication about what things look like and how they are moving. But Harry trusts me.’ And what about the collection, did he like it? ‘I think so,’ he ponders. ‘He seemed to enjoy it.’ And as for what’s next?

He’s planning to move his menswear shows to Paris while growing his womenswear collections here in London. He’s also looking to make his first foray into the world of collaborations. ‘I love to take the pathway that feels a bit scarier. Sometimes, it feels like the right thing and you just have to trust your gut and go with it.’