S.S.DALEY at LFW: A Lesson in Emotion and Evolution

S.S. Daley’s latest show at London Fashion Week is a reminder of just how far Steven Stokey-Daley has come since graduating from Westminster in 2020. When I taught him, it was clear that his approach to menswear was never just about the clothes. It was about the stories they told, the emotions they evoked, and the cultural references woven into every stitch.

Today, his brand has become synonymous with a deeply personal British narrative that interrogates class, queerness, and nostalgia with a theatrical flair. His collections are rooted in the very institutions that shaped Britain’s elite, yet they subtly subvert their traditions. That fascination began in our studios at Westminster, overlooking the playing fields of Harrow School, where he watched the next generation of political leaders unknowingly become part of his fashion lexicon.

S.S. Daley is not just about romantic storytelling. His time interning at Alexander McQueen and Tom Ford gave him a grounding in the realities of craftsmanship, drape, and tailoring. He once admitted to being intimidated by tailoring, yet his collections now embrace it in a way that feels intuitive. He balances soft, fluid silhouettes with traditional menswear codes. He understands that menswear is not just about creating an image for the runway. It has to work on a body, on a rail, and in a wardrobe.

Watching his journey over the last five years, what stands out is his ability to capture the mood of the times. His collections are not dictated by trends but by a deeper and more instinctive understanding of what feels right at this moment. Today, SS Daley is not just a brand. It is a perspective that redefines British menswear through a lens of tenderness, theatricality, and quiet rebellion.