S.S. Daley to be guest designer at Pitti Immagine Uomo

British designer Steven Stokey-Daley will be a guest designer at men's fashion trade show Pitti Immagine Uomo in Florence in January with his eponymous S.S. Daley brand.

The Liverpudlian designer, who usually showcases during London Fashion Week, will present his ‘Made in Britain’ collection in Florence with a catwalk show-event “in his own characteristic style,” explained organisers.

Following his BA at the University of Westminster, Stokey-Daley’s graduate menswear collection caught the attention of fashion industry insiders, including the BFC’s Sarah Mower and Harry Lambert, stylist to Harry Styles, who wore pieces from the collection in his ‘Golden’ music video.

In 2021, the British designer made his London Fashion Week debut and was named a recipient of the British Fashion Council’s NewGen initiative. A year later Stokey-Daley was awarded the LVMH Prize for Young Designers in June and the Foundation Award at the British Fashion Awards in December.

Pitti Immagine Uomo names Steven Stokey-Daley as guest designer in January 2024

Francesca Tacconi, special events coordinator at Pitti Immagine, said in a statement: “Steven Stokey-Daley transforms the British Upper Class into a Queer fashion fantasy. Despite his youth, Steven’s project is characterized 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.”

Tacconi added: “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. 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.”

Stokey-Daley added: “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.”

The 105th edition of Pitti Uomo will take place in Florence from January 9 to 12, 2024.